Imagine that for most of your life, you have been completely and entirely alone. Imagine that you have spent this time desperately attempting to survive. Imagine you were doing so in a place that was once familiar to you. In the short film Graffiti, directed by Lluís Quílez , this concept is explored. Although it was filmed entirely in Chernobyl, almost forty years after the nuclear disaster which left hundreds of thousands of people dead or displaced, Graffiti is set in a dystopian, yet not completely unfamiliar setting. The decaying and decrepit buildings, along with the absence of high key lighting in many shots, enforces a feeling of desolation and dread.
Edgar, played by Oriol Pla, lives in a building void of light, with only his dog to keep him company. Egars life has been spent, at least for the past seven years, checking buildings for what we can assume are dangerously high levels of radiation. He carries a can of black spray paint, which he uses to mark the buildings as safe or unsafe. Instead of using a more conventional system, Edgar either marks the building with a circle, if it is safe, or an asterisk, if it is unsafe.
Edgars life is suddenly interrupted, when he discovers "ANNA" spray painted on a wall in his home. Shocked, he decides to reply to her message, and they continue to communicate indirectly, despite Edgars desperation to see Anna.
Despite her existence never being confirmed, Edgar becomes completely enthralled with the prospect of another person. He repeatedly traces her name, and calls out to her, yearning to finally be able to confirm that she does indeed exist. The audience roots for him, as he has been deprived of any sort of genuine human connection for years.
By the end of the film, Anna's existence is not confirmed. The ending is ambiguous, which allows the viewer to contemplate the film, long after viewing it.
I thoroughly enjoyed this short film. The cinematography was incredible, to to mention the setting (Chernobyl), which definitely reinforces the horror of the situation. Personally, I would rate this film 9/10.
Edgar, played by Oriol Pla, lives in a building void of light, with only his dog to keep him company. Egars life has been spent, at least for the past seven years, checking buildings for what we can assume are dangerously high levels of radiation. He carries a can of black spray paint, which he uses to mark the buildings as safe or unsafe. Instead of using a more conventional system, Edgar either marks the building with a circle, if it is safe, or an asterisk, if it is unsafe.
Edgars life is suddenly interrupted, when he discovers "ANNA" spray painted on a wall in his home. Shocked, he decides to reply to her message, and they continue to communicate indirectly, despite Edgars desperation to see Anna.
Despite her existence never being confirmed, Edgar becomes completely enthralled with the prospect of another person. He repeatedly traces her name, and calls out to her, yearning to finally be able to confirm that she does indeed exist. The audience roots for him, as he has been deprived of any sort of genuine human connection for years.
By the end of the film, Anna's existence is not confirmed. The ending is ambiguous, which allows the viewer to contemplate the film, long after viewing it.
I thoroughly enjoyed this short film. The cinematography was incredible, to to mention the setting (Chernobyl), which definitely reinforces the horror of the situation. Personally, I would rate this film 9/10.