Validation

This short film revolves around parking attendant Hugh Newman who not only gives people tickets but compliments that changes their whole outlook on life . Within a short period of time Hugh has become something of a celebrity but finds his life unfulfilled when he meets a photographer who is incapable of smiling . What can he do to make her smile just once ?

On paper there might have been great potential turning this short in to a feature length movie but the more I thought about it the more I started to realise quirky shorts probably don't make good features . One the problems might have been the character Hugh himself and the way he's played by TJ Thyne .Try and imagine a young Gene Wilder on ecstasy and you have some idea of how irritating an initially happy clappy character can quickly become

This probably sums up VALIDATION - it's length compliments its quirky nature and feel good factor . It's well shot by director Kurt Kuenne and is a feel good fable that comes to a stop just around about the time when cynical embittered nihilists feel their patience might just end

"Validation" is a 16-minute short, but it packs a lot of story in those minutes. The protagonist appears to be a selfless guy, someone who exists only to provide happiness to others. But when he is unable to make a person happy, he loses his focus. Since this film is really about karma, his past deeds catch up with him and change his life. What follows is a fairytale ending, but "Validation" connects with so many people that it must have a ring of truth to many who view it.

The production values are good, and the editing is excellent. The soundtrack is integrated well into the story.

Can this film change lives? Perhaps. And that is really saying something.

I had the pleasure of seeing this gem at the Phoenix Film Festival and I have to say that there are probably less then 1% of all short films made have the ability to make the audience well up with tears of happiness. That is precisely what this film did to me. Not only that. Whenever I tell someone about it I get the sense of welling up again just from re-telling it to them.

T.J. Thyne is perfectly cast as Hugh Newman, the uber-naive parking booth guy who works at the end of a darkly lit hallway and validates customers parking tickets while validating their lives at the same time. Just like any protagonist in a movie, he hits his roadblock and loses his mojo for a while but soon finds himself again, after he finds life taking him in another direction and gets back on the trail of making people's lives better. He finds out in the end that the good deeds had been doing for people in the past, that he thought were not changing anything or anybody, actually changed the lives of even the most hardened hearts and in turn find him the complete happiness that he had been searching for the whole time.

Kurt Kuenne did an AMAZING job with this film, period. From the finger-snappy acapella soundtrack to the directing, editing and cinematography; all of it is perfectly fit into this beautiful story. I only wish I could buy this movie on DVD. I've told so many people about it and wish I could show them! Hopefully soon!

A simple film who could be defined as motivational. in fact, it is more. a pledge for small gestures. delicate /brave words. about the change using simple tools. about honesty. and about the importance of the other. nothing complicated. but usefull. for the message. for the tears of the end. for the basic lesson about ordinary things - briks of every day reality. a nice film. and that is all.

I have read nearly all what the former reviewers said. I agree with much of it. What can I add?

First, I'd like to say that there is a lot of symbolism in this movie. The producer meant every thing he did in it. Nothing is done randomly. For example the choice of black and white (no colours) states clearly that our lives can shift within these two colours Black (sadness) and white (smile-happiness). They have to exist together. they fight each other. We are the ones to choose which side to take. This is the old philosophical debate of good and evil.

Second, I think that the movie tells us that what ever our social class, our financial situation or where ever we are we can either influence others positively or negatively. We have seen the cheerful park attendant turn many sad people into happy one, from simple citizens to countries'presidents and also the opposite: we have seen the same person turn the same people from happiness to sadness because that is what he was living at that moment.H just communicated it. So Every one counts in this world.

Thirdly, He made happy many people but he didn't succeed to make the photographer smile. What ever he did. However, she smiled at him at the end and he didn't even know how she did it. This episode teaches us no to give up but continue our fight because thing change in a way or in an other.

To conclude, as I am a teacher of English language, I will try to use this video in classroom, and I hope it will bring a lot of my student to this web site and post their reviews.