Graffiti

A radiated and disaster-ridden city filled with tranquility and quietude? After watching the film, you can easily observe into the directors mind of genius and prowess.

The not so short film, "Graffiti" explores a post apocalyptic setting surrounding the tragedy that occurred at Chernobyl in 1986. "7 years after the incident," an abandoned Edgar and his dog tramp through the harsh winter snow searching for, and marking radiated areas of the city using what is known as a Geiger counter. After another average day of using graffiti to mark the walls, Edgar goes home to make the discovery of a name written on his wall, "Anna," which tumbles Edgars life into a hole of difficult decisions.

Mixing a tragedy and love story into one in an art form such as this will always remind me of William Shakespeare's work, and it seems that this short film also follows his original formatting as well. Going from barely knowing each other to making sacrifices for the other person in a matter of weeks is not the most realistic circumstance, but it is unbelievably fascinating mostly because of how unrealistic the circumstances are. Director Lluis Quilez mentioned in an interview that he wanted the storyline to be based around the, "long tradition of love stories that have grown through long distance letters or messages," which he mentioned in an interview. This furthers my ideas of him following "tradition" and using the most common formatting for love stories which I honestly think is smart, because if anything traditional love stories are the easiest to follow in today's society because us as humans see them everywhere. Mixing the idea of this familiarity of traditional love with the unfamiliarity of disaster is what makes this short film so well executed.

Tying back into the main theme of tragic love, I realized that I enjoy this film mostly for the silence and suspense that they built and how it always had me wondering, "what's going to happen next?" I also can appreciate how the title is a bit of an oxymoron when compared to the silence of the film, considering that graffiti spraying is some of the loudest sound to happen in this film overall. Additionally it is interesting that the winter setting predetermined placidity in the opening scenes even before we met our main character, which is fitting considering that winter is a symbol for darkness and the death of an era which ties back to the original theme of tragedy. These are a few of the many reasons and hidden devices they use to further explore the theme and keep the viewers of the film encapsulated.

There isn't much criticism I have about the film, but the only thing I would like to mention is the ambiguity of the ending. Leaving it on a cliffhanger and not ending this (long) short story on a specific conclusion, whether happy or sad, doesn't give the viewer enough satisfaction in myself and many others cases and just isn't a great way to cut the story off. I do understand wanting to leave the interpretation of if Anna is real or not up to the viewer, but after watching for thirty minutes, I believe that they already left enough time for this idea to be interpreted and that they could have ended the story with the truth.

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.

Greetings again from the darkness. Here's yet another post-apocalyptic story, and it even borrows "a boy and his dog" from I Am Legend (2007). However, within minutes, we are drawn in by the stillness of the setting, and the foreboding, snow-covered surroundings that this singular character explores each day.

Director Lluis Quilez co-wrote the screenplay with Javier Guillen, and connects us to the young man as he, "seven years after the incident", trudges in the snow between abandoned buildings. He checks for radiation while scavenging for food and useful items. He marks each building as safe or not, and even sends out pleas for help … just in case. His tool of choice is a can of black spray paint.

One day he is startled as the daily trek brings him back to his lair with the name "Anna" spray pointed on a wall sign. Suddenly he has hope for companionship and the possible end of loneliness. Over the next few days we learn much about the two teenagers. Anna is 19 years old, and Edgar is 17. In fact, the wall exchanges play like a post-apocalyptic version of our modern day dating apps. Personal information is exchanged and a relationship and bond is developed through only the painted exchanges.

The imagery and visuals of the film are top notch, and the message seems to be that hope is a driving force not just for characters in survival stories, but for all of us. Is it possible that the hope of personal connection may even be a stronger motivator than survival itself?

The short film Graffiti displays a man who has been stuck for many years alone in an abandoned area contaminated with radioactivity. Lluís Quílez gives us very little information about the reasons behind the man's situation. The man is alone and has somehow managed to survive for seven years on limited resources. I really enjoyed the setting as it is based in Chernobyl and it is chilling to see it in modern times. The camera crew and the actors had to potentially expose themselves to radioactivity to film this which creates a real sense of danger especially those who are educated on the nuclear accident.

In the film, it seems this place can make you sick but it is never explained what the sickness does or why there is a reason to fear it. I am personally not a fan of the lack of clarification cause I found myself thinking about these questions and it kind of took me away from what was happening on the screen.

The wide shots used to display many shots throughout this film serves to encompass a sense of isolation and seclusion. This shot is used in the opening scenes where the man is seen pleasuring himself to a faded billboard showing a woman's legs in pantyhose. I think that the fact that this billboard only shows a woman's legs leaving out a face really displays the man's desire for anything even remotely womanly or romantic. When the word ANNA appears in graffiti on a wall, he is so willing to make sacrifices for this person and is so desperate to meet her that he doesn't stop to think about how he really knows nothing about this person. She has no face just like the billboard. The question arises of what if this person isn't who he is romanticizing in his mind. Would he still have the same desire to sacrifice things for her? Would he begin to regret past decisions?

As the conversation written in graffiti between the two continues it becomes very ambiguous of if this person really exists. At times it seems like surely she exists and other times things begin to feel a little off. I really like the sense of mystery and tension that builds as the story progresses and the desire to know the truth.

Nearing the end things start to lose clarification and become very ambiguous. I like very plot based stories that end with all loose ends tied up into a little bow. This story didn't do that for me. I was left with many questions. I think this film would be a good fit for someone who likes to use their imagination and explore many different ideas. Personally my brain hurt from thinking of all the unanswered questions at the end so it wasn't a good fit for me although I do think there is a certain audience for this type of film. That being said I would still recommend this film as it kept me entertained and I enjoyed it for the most part.

Anna came into Edgar's home several times without either him or his dog sensing her presence. Why didn't she reveal herself earlier when she could see he was harmless? Did Edgar's isolation drive him to imagine Anna's existence and subconsciously act out her side of the conversation?