A Purgatory Story

For fans of short films, A Purgatory Story offers a delightful yet emotional office comedy. It captures the essence of office life: waking up early to follow dull morning routines, rushing to work to do uninspiring tasks, dealing with annoying colleagues, and chasing a promotion that may never come-all while being micromanaged by a demanding boss. The result? Boredom, burnout, and a fading sense of joy in life.

But here's the twist: our main character isn't your typical office worker. He's a demon who has been stuck in purgatory for over a hundred years. And his job? Responding to the living who use ouija boards to reach out to spirits. The monotony takes a surprising turn when the demon starts communicating with a young woman who also feels trapped in her life. They connect on a deep level, supporting each other through their struggles.

The story feels fresh and relatable, especially for anyone trapped in the monotony of a dull job. Despite its brief 15-minute runtime, the film takes viewers on an emotional journey-capturing feelings of boredom, hope, sadness, and joy. A standout aspect of this short film is the absence of spoken dialogue. While it's not a silent film, the characters convey everything through written messages and expressions, proving that words aren't always necessary to tell a powerful story.

One thing I didn't enjoy, though, was the modern chat-style language used in their messages, full of internet slang and acronyms. Thankfully, there were no emojis, but the slang felt out of place and disrupted the mood a bit. I assume this was meant to add humor, but for me, it was more distracting than funny.

Still, the film's originality and emotional core shine through. The bond between two souls-one living, one stuck in the afterlife-makes this short film a memorable experience. It's likely to be one of the most enjoyable 15 minutes of your day.

This is an excellent short film. The plot is highly original although a little surreal, which means you are not quite sure which way it is going. One of unusual things about this film is that there are no words spoken at all, instead relying on just subtitles and moods set by an original music score by Charles Harvey Spears.

So, have you ever wondered what Purgatory is like? Gerard (Joey Long) has been there since 1903 and has a tedious commute to a dull callcentre job, in this case answering ouija board questions. He is not allowed to quit and promotion is very very slow. His day starts with the alarm clock going off (love the time on the clock!), same clothes, dreadful breakfast, stuck in traffic then spends most of his day waiting for something to happen. Basically, not much has changed since he was on Earth.

The turning point occurs when he establishes a relationship by ouija board with a lady called Claire (Joana Metrass). We don't know much about her, but presumably she is seeking communication with the other side because she has lost someone dear to her. This dialogue becomes key to them both moving forwards.

The only problem with this film might be if you have eyesight problems as reading the subtitles is key.

There are many good short films by Omeleto, and in my opinion this is one of the best. My other favourite is "Future Boyfriend".

Hands down the best short I've ever seen. Leaves Pixar in the dust. An unhappy young woman communicates with a guy stuck in - where else? - purgatory through a Ouija board. Romantic, but also lots of hilarious bits. (Did you know there's a branch of a certain well-known coffee chain there?)

I really loved it, very touching and beautifully shot. Performance of the actors is so honest that they make us totally believe in the story.

Romance ? Off course ! Ironic perspective about life and death ? No doubt ! But, more important, a wise short film about hope, need of other, bridges across worlds, ukulele and ouija . A film so beautiful , touching in so profound sense, reminding us to us , for the wise use of small things defining our life of every day. So, just a gem.