Desserts

I saw this short at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. Sundance has a reputation for showcasing great shorts and this one was terrific. If I were giving the awards -- but of course I forgot to fill out my audience ballots -- the Best Short award would have gone to Jeff Stark for this brilliant three-minute masterpiece of comic horror (starring Ewan MacGregor). This exquisite tidbit caused an immense unified gasp of shocked laughter at its first screening. I can't tell you the punchline except to say, "Beware of stray chocolate eclairs on the beach."

Revenge! An interesting short film. No dialogue. Very simple. A man walking down a beach spots an object, and is fatefully attracted to it. It's incredulous, but nightmarishly effective. It reminds me slightly of La Cabina, the same kind of principle. Forces beyond our control leading to our fate.

Despite its brevity, a measured mood is developed during this four minute multiple prizewinning short, perhaps due to a complete lack of dialogue that serves to enhance a surprise ending that delighted audiences at its Toronto Film Festival debut, as well as those who viewed it during its wide distribution to European and Asian theatres. The title is cleverly reflective upon a theme of revenge that would be appropriate for a magazine published fantasy short short story, appreciated by the substantial numbers who saw the work in the Los Angeles area, playing there on the same bills as Tom Tykwer's RUN LOLA RUN. The production for this short is flawlessly accomplished by all involved and especial notice shall be given here to the work of makeup artist Colin Shuler for a highly skillful prosthetic creation.

A solitary man strolling along the beach comes across a tempting eclair. Why the dessert is sitting there and who left it are questions the stroller should have pondered. The next decision he makes changes his life forever...

In trying to come up with the title for a black & white short film that I saw in the theatres circa 1967, I came across "Desserts" here on imdb. From what I read, it seemed as if "Desserts" was a remake of the short movie I was researching. What I saw in 1967 has remained with me ever since. It was the best short I've ever seen.

"Desserts" is available on an out-of-print DVD of shorts from the Toronto Film Festival. I finally found it on eBay, bought it and played it at home last week.

What a disappointment! One of the main "catches" to the original is that the solitary character is a fisherman at the seaside. That makes the "hook" of the story a lot more meaningful. Since I remember the original so well, I can say that a few of the shots in "Desserts" were lifted directly from the black & white film; however, the money shot from the original wasn't duplicated in the remake. That's like a burglar stealing the diamond earrings but not the matching necklace!

If anyone reading this happens to know the name of the original short film or its director, pleeeze get in contact with me with that information or post it here. It was superb!