About a Girl

Shocking short-film about a young girl who's the product of a broken home and hopeless dreams of being a pop star. Her dad is unemployed and spends his time playing soccer while her mom struggles to make end meet.

One striking feature of this film was the contrast by the girl's fully Americanized rendering of the pop lyrics she sings and the thick Liverpool accent that she uses in everyday speech. (It required me to put on subtitles to understand what was being said)

As sad as the life that she describes is, I was still totally unprepared for the ending.

A film short that leaves a lasting impression. Initially about a teenage girl who narrates her story through what seems like a typically naive philosophy on life, still holding onto the dreams of childhood while experiencing the transition into the stark realisation of adulthood and the first understanding of disappointment. It manages to instill a feeling of charm and endearment while depicting the neo-realistic impressions of inner-city hardships. But gradually through the narrative we get a darker feeling that something is not as innocent as we think. The dénouement is profound and shocking, as unexpected as it is sad.

Like a good short story should be, this shows us enough of a window into a life that we come away knowing the young girl's life story, and we can hazard a guess as to her future. Hemingway's maxim that you only need show ten-percent of the whole story rings true. This film deserved to win awards; the direction and camera-work are superb, the script and acting extraordinarily good. Quite easily one of the best short films I've ever seen.

I remember seeing this short film on television in 2001. The monologue was fast and in a dialect that I as a Dutchman could hardly follow. But the intensity and the atmosphere caught me right away. The twist at the and blew me away. Because I was distracted, I did not take note of the title or the origin of the movie, so I lost track of it. Now, 16 years later, I finally succeeded in finding the movie back through google, wikipedia and youtube. And again it hits me. Timeless and poignant drama, played by a gifted young actress..

I had to see this film twice to truly appreciate it. So many short films are BOOORIIING, and I guess I expected this one to be also, so maybe I was predjudiced. I paid little attention to what was being said so did not get into the film, but then suddenly I was hit by a real wake-up call at the end. SO, I went to see it again, and I have to say the performance and characterisation of the central character IS superb. The actress really makes this film a winner. The direction of her is very good, though I found the photography a little flat, but perhaps this is because it is meant to be gritty and realistic. Overall it's a wonderful short film, but it deals with a grim subject. Not a popcorn film.

This is a film that really makes you think about our culture and our society today.

We learn about the life of the Girl as she talks about her hopes, dreams and experiences.

Nothing will prepare you for the very shocking ending. It really is like a slap in the face! Or a wake up call...

An excellent piece of writing, directing and acting.