Fait d'hiver

Not for kids. But this one shows a man (who is swearing in traffic), and asks his daughter how was everything going. And the daughter tells the new, thus getting him shocked, and kind of messed up. Creative, silly, and this one will get an R rating by the looks of it. How could this short from France get nominated an Oscar (even though it has nudity and gore, not to mention really strong language). Oh well, it is good.

This is well made, a tad ghoulish and darkly humorous, even if it does have what the late writer Damon Knight called an "idiot plot", which means that everyone in it has to be an idiot in order for the plot to work. Good cast, though really only two of them have much to do-the driver (finalist for the Village Idiot of the Year Award) and the little girl serving as catalyst for events. Everyone else is going for a Darwin Award and are spear-carriers otherwise. Decidedly adult in nature, this reminded me for all the world of Special Delivery, a cartoon done by Allison Snowden for the NFBC-different plot, to be sure, but the same mordant wit. Well worth watching, it's been shown on the Sundance Channel on one of their recent Shorts Program compilations. Recommended.

Beautifully shot short movie that tells the story of a man getting stuck in a traffic jam and who makes a phone call home. That is what we see. Everything from that point gets mixed up. It is shot in winter with some snow covering truth and mistakes. Very well acted from the main character Tim. But the other actors are without depth and direction.

This movie was short n' sweet and very well made--it really showcased the director's skill. But I thought the premise was gimmicky and annoying. The little girl was very cute though! I've never seen such a cute little girl!

About a week ago, I watched and loved a British short entitled DADDY'S LITTLE HELPER. I liked it so much, I couldn't wait to review it on IMDb. However, only a week later I stumbled upon FAIT D'HIVER and found that DADDY'S LITTLE HELPER was an almost exact copy--with only a few differences. Since then, DADDY'S LITTLE HELPER's director/co-writer, Daniel Wilson contacted me to swear the similarities were unintentional--which can happen and occasionally does. Ain't life odd?!

As for the film, it is super funny though there is some nudity (whereas in the British film there's none). I could try to explain what happened when the daddy calls his little girl, but it might ruin the suspense. Just see this cute and disturbing little short yourself--you'll be glad you did.