10 Nov 2011

Sweeper ★★★★★



Review of 'Sweeper' which can be found here at Renderyard.com.

Length: 01:00
By written & directed by Matthew Esterhuizen & Benjamin Collins
Genre: Comedy
Date: 2007
Rating: ★★★

Logline: A robotic road sweeper is challenged by an inconsiderate smoker.

I can find no more info on this film other than it was a finalist in the 2008 One Minute Challenge. To which competition that is, your guess is as good as mine. Certainly can't see any mention of it on the major one minute player's website Filminute. It's a shame to see this little gem with so little promotion around it.

Again, a simple story (there's a pattern there somewhere) playing on what many of us consider to be a pet peeve. An ordinary man, who looks strikingly like the films co-creator Ben Collins, sits puffing away in his nice car. Nothing wrong with that, go smokers rights! Any ways, the filthy git turns twisted litterer, dumping his fag butt into the street. Cue our hero to the rescue. A green, one eyed rust bucket street sweeper, who will teach this guy a lesson.

There's a distinctly Wall-E feel to this character. Both created to clean up after us dirty humans, with lots of gadgetry packed away within their shells, both mimic human behaviour and have an infallible objective to complete no matter what. But Sweeper is a bit more sinister (the music tells us so) compared to its Disney counterpart. There's no cute synthesised voice, (In fact no dialogue is used at all which is testament to wise construction of a time constrained film.) there's little emotion to be animated from a machine with one unblinking eye, and more importantly, Sweeper has little concern regarding human life.

Utilising a wide range of shots used in the edit, the film provides great pacing while never feeling rushed. The CGI animation of the Sweeper fits seamlessly into the real time action and is superbly complemented with apt sound effects. The only audio which isn't to my taste would be the Garageband-type music the man listens to in his car. That aside, congratulations on the well planned and thought out film.

Structure is impeccable and even the credits are kept to a bare minimal allowing for a stinger (post credit sequence) to play at the end. Five seconds is all it takes to show us this character is doing a never ending job but will no doubt teach someone else a valuable lesson. Tantalising us with the possibility of further adventures.

Best Bit: In your face! Smoking certainly kills.

Worst Bit: Clutching at straws here, the passersby that don't seem to notice a car being thrown in their general direction.

Final thought: Whys he just sitting in his car. I hate people that do that.

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.

No comments:

Post a Comment