"Le Siège" ("The Siege") is a pretty good short film that covers a day in the life of a persecuted teenager (Jassen Charron) who hides himself in the school library because a bully (Antoine-Olivier Pilon) on his bike is waiting to get him. Whatever happened no way to know - despite some hint later on when the bully's sister (Romane Dumesnil) shows up to inquire about his purpose in staying there when everyone had gone. Meanwhile inside the building, a teacher (Catherine de Léan) notices the hiding boy and tries to understand what's he doing inside. He replies, saying he forgot things in his locker, a small conversation begins but she's not easy to be fooled, there is something wrong.
You already have the setting, the elements and wonder how they're gonna fit together with certainty, quality and tension. Well, tension is positively created despite being a real yet worn-out teenage flick cliché. But that feels adequate and certain with a bigger boy walking in circles with his bike, stopping to check the school windows to see if he sees someone; the silence in between those four characters in empty spaces; the terrified kid hiding himself from time to time, never stopping with his worries of finding a way to get out of school without being noticed and thinking when does this guy will leave. All of that, from acting to the development and rhythm of those sequences are first rate. Not to mention the great relevance it presents on the thematic of dealing with consequences of actions. It was beautifully done (but sad in unexpected ways but that's good).
Pity that it stops right there. Yes, I wanted a good answer for what motivated Maxime (the bully) and his hostile intentions - he says something on the lines that the other boy messed with his sister but we don't know in what ways. Maybe I'm picky about this thing alone when in reality the conclusion was possibly the best thing ever, it validated the whole built up tension. I'll assume the idea was to create this short, attract investors and then move to an expanded version of it, which I believe can be great but the focus will shift from the poor kid to the dangerous one. That's exactly the way to go. It's well made but it's too short (no pun intended). Oh, and I loved the irony of seeing Pilon playing a bully a few years before the tormented picked kid in "1:54" (2016). Another proof that he can play almost everything at such an early age. 7/10
