Connect (Samuel Abrahams, 2010)

Connect (Samuel Abrahams, 2010) is a 5 minute long short film that follows a woman on a bus who imagines very unlikely scenarios playing out in front of her as she listens to music, and sparks up a brief and fleeting romance with another passenger.

The film does not have any dialogue at all, which means that it does not set up its plot or characters other than through what we can see through the their actions and expressions. Events simply play out in front of us and the protagonist, and the intensity of events fluctuates as the two main characters are separated by the other people on the bus. There is no actual climax or buildup, as there is little to no communication of the characters emotions or intentions other than through silent performance.

The film does show how information can be conveyed through physical actions rather than dialogue, and the performative dance at the end conveys the main characters excitement through action, rather than narration or cinematography, etc. The film relies heavily on performance and the audiences interpretation of it, and the narrative is not particularly interesting or entertaining. There are a few interesting moments where the protagonist becomes lost in their own reality, but this does not contribute anything to the story, and can be hard to interpret when the character is not set up before hand. There is no context to the character, the audience just has to see what is happening and understand it’s meaning, which is not communicated in a way that makes it clear, as there is no dialogue or set up, character development or narrative progression.

I remember shots like the close up of the two peoples hands slowly touching, as this allows for suspense to be built, and the moment to become more romantic through. The way that it cuts to close ups of their faces and shot-reverse-shots to show that they are building a connection is an interesting technique that I can use to create a romantic moment in my own short film. The sudden flicker of light in the top left corner here was a technique that I wouldn’t use, but it does emphasise the sudden sentimentality of the moment.

The film is short and uses its time effectively, like most short films, to set up a romance between two characters, but otherwise does not establish meaning or characters, and incorporates some symbolism through performance that is difficult to understand as there is no dialogue or character development to explain it. I think the directors intention was to establish a connection between two characters in a short time frame with no dialogue or context, and uses the protagonists imagination to reflect their emotions, which is not entirely clear while watching the film. The establishment of a romance in a short time frame with nothing said is what I remember as the most positive aspect of Connection, but the unconventional ways of conveying meaning did not do the film many favours.