Caroline

Close up shots, sweat, tears and a confined space. It's tense.

Caroline is a nerve-wracking short film directed by Logan George and Celine Held centered around a six year old girl who's mothers is in distress and the responsibilities of looking after her siblings have fallen upon her. Caroline's mother is in need of a job and the film begins with the family in the car on the way to what seems to be a job interview on a very hot day. Being the only adult, Caroline's mother must leave her children in the car in hopes that a six year old will be able to handle anything that may arise during the time that she is gone. 3 young children alone, inside of a hot car with no AC on. Attention is drawn to them and tension rises as the film progresses.

Caroline is a film that keeps you on your toes, creates tension and makes you uncomfortable in the best way possible. The sweat, uncomfortable movement and the cry of the children all serve to keep the audience invested in each scene.

Although it had a little bit of a lackluster ending, the film successfully kept me interested in the storyline. I would recommend it to older audiences who are able to understand the struggle of the mother and the burden that is constantly put on this 6 year old child so that they may better comprehend the film as a whole. .

"Caroline" is a gripping short film co-directed and written by Celine Held and Logan George. Over the course of 12 blood-pumping minutes, the film provokes a debate about the clash between individual and societal morals. Based on true events, the film follows the titular character, Caroline, as she and her two younger siblings are left in a vehicle on a sweltering day while their struggling and single mother attends a job interview.

The film starts in medias res as the mother (Celine Held) desperately searches for a babysitter after her intended babysitter bails at the last minute. Although it is clear the mother is trying to do her best under the circumstances, she ultimately makes a choice to task her eldest daughter, Caroline (Caroline Falk), with supervising her younger siblings in the car while she goes into a strip mall for the interview.

Although leaving young children in a hot car is dangerously wrong, the situation is presented in such a way that the audience can sympathise with the mother's position. Cinematic and theatrical effects such as diegetic sound, close up shots and shaky camera movement make the realistic portrayal of the situation even more believable. The mother clearly loves her children and desperately needs this job to support them but has been put between a rock and a hard place with no help from the state or from friends and family.

Nevertheless the minute the mother leaves her children in the car the audience knows that the situation will not end well and nail biting drama unfolds from there.

Provoked a emotional response from its audience. Whether you connect with the characters or not it's a memorable short film that allows the audience to be immersed in the storyline. The story follows a young girl and her family as she deals with the harshness of the inner workings of society. The single mother of three decides to leave her children inside the car on a hot Texas summer day in order to attend a job interview that she desperately needs. The views sympathize with her even though her actions were morally incorrect. As she frantically attempts to find a solution for the issue at hand. Her helplessness is present from the first moment of the film and escalates as the film progresses. By making the viewpoint Caroline, an innocent and vulnerable child, we the audience become conflicted between siding with the mother and her situation and what society norms.

The relationship between the director (Held) and children really shone though in this film, to make a believable and authentic performance. Inorder to create this bond both directors moved in with the children for a period of time in order establish a more comfortable atmosphere. The children acting has very impressive as it made the audience feel uncomfortable

This unique storyline and well executed acting made the film worthy of the praise it received. My criticism on the film was the little backstory it gave to what led up to the events at hand. Viewers had to make many assumption about the living and financial situation of the mother. The film exerted many emotions but abrupt ending made me personally left with many emotions and unable to feel with it. I would recommend this film to a more mature audience as it addresses mature concepts about our society. Overall I thoroughly enjoy the craft of this film and would watch again.

The film focuses on a young girl named Caroline who is left in a boiling hot car with her two youtube siblings, although leaving your kids in a car with no AC on a hot Texas summer day is always a no go, the mothers unfortunate situation allows us to sympathise with her. The film starts showing a stressed and desperate mother trying her best to take care of her kids but also desperately needing a job. When the mother goes to drop off the kids the sitter is not present so making the best of the situation she takes the kids with her and leaves Caroline the keys in case the car gets too hot. When the car starts to heat up Caroline can't start the car so she does her best to take responsibility and care for her sibling until her mom gets back. After another set of parents sees the kids in the car tensions start to rise, you get increasingly more anxious and stressed wondering what's going to happen as everything continues to spiral down hill.

The film did an amazing job at keeping your attention because you just want something to go right and seeing the children crying and sweating gets you emotionally involved. Everything that happens makes you feel uneasy and stressed and seeing it all from Caroline's perspective just amplifies that, between the excessive sweating and the passerbyers muffled talking and tapping on the window makes you feel trapped and helpless. My only criticism is that at some points the crying and sweating was overdone and it was just hard to watch and made me uncomfortable. I would definitely recommend this to a mature audience due to how unsettling some aspects of the film can be but overall it was a fantastic film.

This short should have won the Palme D'Or at Cannes. It was the only US short nominated in 2018. The coolest thing about Caroline- you can watch it over and over again and pick up nuances that you missed the first time- it is packed with hidden meaning. It is BRILLIANT. Well done - love the kids and the mom <3