Short Film Review “Two Souls” A beautiful yet forthright story of human connection, its effects on us, and what it means to lose it
WATCH THE TRAILER BELOW:
First, the Recap:
There are those we look up to, admire, and appreciate. Then, there are those whom become actual INFLUENCES in our lives. We ideally strive to strengthen the relationships that yield the most mutually beneficial results, the ones that become what we lean on, rely on, to be there when we need them most. What makes this even better is when those individuals arrive to us in the most unexpected and unplanned ways. Even so, can we maintain these bonds strongly enough to survive our human frailties?
In a small midwest town, a teen convenience store clerk named Jennifer is experiencing something she is both confused and disheartened by…the sudden disappearance of someone she’s valued very highly in recent times, a co-worker named Saleem. As her recollection of how their worlds came together unfolds, and life itself has taken over their respective pasts and paths, will it bring the answers she, and he are, or were, looking for?
Next, my Mind:
Through recently taking part in the process of screening films for an upcoming film festival here in my hometown of Columbus, OH, I had what I certainly considered my first REAL immersion into a realm of filmmaking that has not only surfaced, but COULD become FAR more prevalent…for better or worse truly to be determined…AI-generated cinema. It was presented in a large array of styles, genres, visual formats, and overall execution that admittedly IS fascinating to witness and assess, some being totally magnificent, and some showcasing that AI still does have a LONG way to go to REALLY even attempt to try and directly compete, thought hopefully NOT take over, the standard filmmaking process. So when it came to this new 11-minute, fully AI-generated short film from writer/director/producer Siraj Huda and executive producer Nandan Bhat, I wanted to see what a familiar filmmaker’s take would be on this rising presence in cinematic creativity.
Truthfully, I was not at all disappointed! As this critic has very much made evident over the years, STORY and its ability to impact me is always what I am looking for first, as it IS the narrative that serves to PULL me into what’s being delivered. That is accomplished with this effort, and in a manner that is wholly human, filled with deep relevancy to our current societal climate, and likewise conveying the sheer beauty AND challenges that arise when two people’s lives intersect, become intertwined, then stirringly necessary for each at just the right moment in time. As such, this particular venture that sees the unveiling of a heartening yet also heartbreaking journey of a pair of individuals, apart in age gender, ethnicity, and walks in life who not only come together, but do so in a way that cements a foundational message about ALL of us being the same IN SPITE of outward appearance, inward beliefs, and varying degrees of past hurts that leave their marks.
The film doesn’t shy away from displaying this for each of our main characters, and it only lends an emotional depth to the tale that SHOULD feel utterly relatable as well as compelling in its declarations of the unity and understanding we in SUCH desperate need of, especially in this polarized and angry reality we are trying to make it through at the time. Now, the film is also done smartly in how its narrative really strikes us with an ENDING to START, then proceeds to fill in ALL that has transpired PRIOR that has at least leads to a specific point in the relationship/friendship depicted, doing so with an actual finale that not only leaves certain things to conjecture, but also emphatically emphasizes another cornerstone concept…what IF and the idea that when we might choose NOT to act or follow through with something, it can potentially have unanticipated consequences when we SHOULD have acted.
Coping with our pasts is also addressed quite efficiently and effectively, also providing some further insight into each primary character’s roads traveled and also to help us realize the total validity of the subsequent association and relatability they find in each other. Now….we get to the film’s actual visual aspects. The AI-generated animated methodology works perfectly fine here, as we don’t ALWAYS need literal motion of characters to elicit response from us as the viewer. What MIGHT be seen as a just a BIT of any sense of disconnect with it all is more than the film is narrated by an AI-generated voiceover, which does SOUND completely like it is READING the narrative’s course as opposed to being able to really FEEL that emotive atmosphere created by two actors (animated or otherwise) actually DELIVERING lines of dialogue.
Some might find this off-putting, but I can honestly state that I was engaged BY the story itself being told and hence gleaning the emotional elements FROM that alone even when NOT having actual dialogue to grasp onto. I would say be WILLING to look BEYOND just the style of verbal discourse and allow instead of the facets of this film’s messaging to sink in through what you view, even IF you still believe you’re being “read to” rather than something being enacted on the screen in the typical fashion traditional filmmaking (again, animated or otherwise) utilizes. And also, due to this approach, there are no actor credits in itself to critique here, which is also unique. There’s only imagery and what we listen to that allows each scene to be birthed and discover life. Huda, along with Roshan Pereira used ChatGPT for the image generation, which is employed with intent and success here.
ElevenLabs supplied the narrator, Mixkit supplied the music, and there you go! So, in total, “Two Souls” adeptly showcases the fundamental components of what is indeed manifesting into an entirely fresh and undeniably creative approach to filmmaking while furnishing us with a greatly needed story about who we are as people, the friendships we foster, their importance to and affecting significance upon our shared paths, and the unequivocal necessity for us to be UNIFIED and keep those associations close at hand….because you never know what can happen when we let go, voluntarily or otherwise, and then refuse to reconnect when given opportunity. After all, NONE of us are EVER guaranteed tomorrow.
STAR RATING (out of 5):
