The Wraith of Cobble Hill

I didn't understand the purpose of this story. It evoked no emotion in me. I didn't amuse or depress me; I didn't know what to make of it.....yet this was oddly compelling.

I don't like depressing stories, and this definitely could be labeled depressing, as others have called it. I didn't find it that way. I just found it an interesting view into a character's life, in this a teen called "Justin." The kid lives at in a poor Brooklyn apartment home with his mom, who is about useless. She sits in bed and watches television all day, not even caring enough to put food in the house. The kid goes to the neighborhood convenience story, shoplifts a little bit and the kindly owner, "Mr. H.," asks if he would watch his dog for a few days while he goes away. Justin is reluctant but when the owner says "you can have the key to the store," Justin thinks "free food" and takes him up on it.

What happens after that isn't much, yet the viewer - at least, me - winds up very involved with this kid, and the dog, too. There is a dramatic subplot in here with a neighbor upstairs but I couldn't decipher what that was all about. The sound during those brief scenes, as Justin looked into the room, was very muted so I doubt I was the only one who couldn't understand what that was all about. I guess it will remain a mystery, and I think that's what the filmmaker wants.

"Mysterious" might be a good word for this short, animated film. I loved the black-and-white artwork. This has a distinctive look to it and was a part of the attraction to viewing this.

This short shifted the tone of the medley of films that came before and those that followed in the sequence. With its slow pace and sepia-like coloration, The Wraith combined social commentary with a sad tale of loneliness, and the result was a film about the role that distance plays in all of our lives. It follows a few brief days in the lives of Justin, a teenager raised by a mother in the rough district of Cobble Hill in Brooklyn. With no food in the house and a mother who won't stop watching the television, Justin walks to the local convenient store. After thieving a small candy bar and almost getting away with comic book, the amiable owner Mr. H asks Justin to take over the shop for a few days, while he goes elsewhere. What follows has to be experienced by the viewer. Too short for any more details. A very touching film indeed, and one that understands the possibilities of animation.

The animation and style of THE WRAITH OF COBBLE HILL are its greatest assets. Although the animation is somewhat crude by modern standards, it's different enough and evokes a mood that is compelling. Too bad the story itself left me feeling completely indifferent. At times the film seemed about to say something profound, but again and again, I felt like the film just missed the mark and had very little to say--or at least that I cared about or that interested me. If it were making a statement about poverty, then they made the central character too amoral and unlikable to see that his life is a waste or have you wonder what life would be like in a nicer environment. I'm really not sure what the point was and assume that the point was that there was no point--none at all. While some might like this, for me it just left me feeling drab and unexcited about the whole thing.

This film is one of the bonus shorts included with the wonderful DVD "A Collection of 2006 Academy Award Nominated Short Films"--a must have for fans of the genre. It's by far the weakest in the set--all the rest are of superior quality and will definitely peak your interest.

A real deprimant short film. Especially for its high realism.

Felix is a teenager, hanging around. His mother is ill, he seems has no purpoise in life, the trust of manager of shop from neighbourhood is used for steel goods with his buddies, the mother makes a radical decision and the last scene proposes a crumb of hope, like the feeling about a sort of resignation.

The significant detail- the rats from shop.

In short, a lead atmosphere and a precise portrait of teen waste of time and cold cynic attitude , the kindness of a poor seller, who manifests compassion and trust in young Felix being perceived by him as dumb ,and a shop infested with rats.

Dark for its realism.