It is worth mentioning at the very start that this is a student film that was reportedly made for a budget 12k plus in-kind support of equipment from the faculty. This is worth mentioning not so you lower your expectations, but rather so that you can really appreciate what the makers accomplished; it was quite something for me to watch this and think about the ambition and vision to produce such a film as a student venture. This is not to suggest that you should be thinking this as you watch, but to be fair this is a film that is totally fine with you being impressed by the style and slickness with which it is presenting itself.
The plot must be mentioned beforehand though. We find ourselves in a Hackers/Strange Days style future, where interface with computing has progressed to the logical step of everyone being networked and the interface being internal and within the field of vision. In this word control and monitoring by those in power is rife, and one girl risks all to try to tackle the system head on. In terms of plot, this short is a bit thin – it is a nice idea and topical, but it has been done before and done better. I liked that the broad world is introduced well, but in terms of the specific scenes in which we drop in, they are not always fleshed out and we are left to just go with it. This isn't helped by the way the film does seem keen to deliver another impressive shot, edit or effect, because it doesn't sit still very often and instead keeps things moving as much as it does.
The style does work though, and as much as it grates me to say it, I would say that it does plug some of the big gaps left by the narrative. The film uses locations very well, drawing a futuristic feel, whether it is the clean lines of futuristic design, or the grungy punk feel of the resistance; okay such visions are not startlingly new, but they are still well done – and not just "for a student film", but in their own right as well. The cast match this approach, and as such their performances are lacking in terms of character and story, but they visually and stylishly match the content to help the film play to its strengths, even if they also contribute then to its weaknesses.
Hello World :) is a stylish and slick short film, doing lots with very little. For one viewing this and the ideas within was pretty much enough to keep me with it; however the weaknesses in narrative and plotting specifics were hard to get over, and it would have been a much better film if they had managed to deliver a tighter content to compliment the style.
