Clarity

Roy Arwas' award winning short is a superbly crafted, heartfelt film. Beautifully shot, the cinematography echos the isolation and abandonment former marine Tom (Brett Zimmerman) feels upon returning home to his estranged abusive father, Richard (Chris Browning), who has no memory of his son due to late stages of Alzheimer's. The external plot is poignant, yet it's the unspoken narrative that is so profound. The emotional baggage Tom carries inside is the eminent artistry of the film.

Zimmerman delivers a tour de force performance, portraying Tom's moral split. Emotions go from outrage to bewilderment to guilt to sorrow and then back again to outrage. Tom's affliction is contradictory. His emotional truth embodies bitterness, rage, and longing, yet conversely, despite all his pain, his truth is also acceptance, forgiveness, and love. There is a powerful, implacable beauty amidst emotional malady.

It is a film to remind yourself. About past and its relations, about present and forms of guilty and loneliness, about options ad fundamental choices. Admirable work of Brett Zimmerman - fair and rare powerful portrait of a Marine - and great cinematography as skin for a very well crafted story of mixed emotions.

Greetings again from the darkness. As the population ages, we are seeing more projects including folks suffering from Alzheimer's and dementia ... diseases that have impacted so many families. Writer-director (and editor) Roy Arwas has crafted a situation that is tough for us to watch, yet one that will strike a chord with many.

Tommy (Brett Zimmerman) returns home after serving 10 years in the Marines. That's a full decade since he last saw or spoke with his father - a man whose presence was not a positive influence on his life. His father, Richard (Chris Browning), is thrilled to see him. The only problem is Richard thinks Tommy is actually Jack, Richard's own brother who died in war. Richard has no recollection of his son Tommy, and refuses to believe he's not Jack.

It's gut-wrenching for us to watch Tommy's emotions run the gamut as he tries to come to grips with the face he has such terrible memories of, and a shell of the man who doesn't even recognize his own son. They go for a drive in Bertha, a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air, and end up at a diner, where Richard's disease makes a public appearance. Family members who have 'been there' will recognize the feeling that Tommy has.

The 19 minute short film has a high production value and it's well acted, including Jodi Moore Lewis in a brief role as Emily, Tommy's sister who has been tending to dad. Tommy was looking for a reckoning, but instead has to face the realities of past and present. What's worse: no memory or horrific memories? Life doesn't always provide us clean answers or the clean slate we deserve.