Hawk

This is the tale of a boy living in the wilderness with his grandfather, and learning the ways of nomad life. He follows his grandfather's teachings, and fervently believes in traditional stories of spirits, until one day the boy finds his grandfather dead in the forest. The boy seeks solace in a potion of magic mushrooms and becomes entranced. In a daze of hallucinations he panics and commits an ungodly act, upturning the natural balance of nature. He is now forever in the debt of an eerie God. Or is he?

This unusual tale lies on the boundary between reality and the sublime. Stunning cinematography, seamless visual effects and colourist skills, help to bring out the emotion and create atmosphere in the film with the aid of an intense and powerful choral soundtrack.

Parts of this film felt a little rushed or unclear, which is a shame, because it could easily be a really fantastic piece. I feel that more work could have been done to develop the characters and clarify the storyline, which left me a little confused in places. The acting skills also tended to be a little over the top, in contrast to the beautiful realism of the visual effects.

Overall, I feel the technical skill displayed in the film made up for its flaws, and meant I could enjoy the piece based on its creativity.

Hawk is an extremely ambitious fantasy film that at its heart has a simple and recognisable story of the internal struggle of good versus bad, told on a grand, epic and audacious scale. The technical elements of this film are a real triumph, with the cinematography and score taking at points precedence over the transparency of the bold but convoluted plot. Set in the mesmerising mountains of Snowdonia and encompassing rarely featured Welsh language and locale, this film offers a bold and original take on the fantasy genre and achieves an admirable and commendable final product.

Immediately the viewer can appreciate the cinematography. The film opens with a striking wide shot of adult Rowan (Robert Gwyn Davin), set against a bleak and enraged Snowdonia horizon, as aerial shots of the majestic Snowdonia mountain range perfectly set the fantastical scene. With limited dialogue throughout, the challenge is set for director of photography, Martin Hill, to guide you on this journey, which, along with Stuart Hancock's score, is expertly navigated and are both a real highlight of the film. The original classical score from start to finish is intensely scintillating and is easily a one of the strongest components of the film that imbeds itself into your unconscious long after the film has finished.

Where the cinematography, location and score leave you wanting more, a particularly difficult aspect to navigate was the conceivably intentionally-illusive plot. Though of course ambiguity is at this fantasy films heart, it felt at points that it left the audience with too much work to do and at times felt like crucial plot points were omitted or not emphasised on enough. Furthermore, much of the film anchors itself between the relationship between the well-delivered performance of Gawain (Philip Madoc) and young Rowan (Steffan Thomas). However, at points this relationship was difficult to invest in and get behind, resulting in depleted levels of character empathy and insight that were, specifically in Rowan's case, needed later in the film. That being said, many elements of the story really stood out and persisted. Rowan's internal battle between good and bad was plain to see and was well delivered by Robert Gwyn Davin in the final third of the film. The theme of taking only what you need from the land and treating nature with respect resonated particularly well and some nine years after its release, and is arguably more imperative and relevant now, than it ever was.

Undeniably, to deliver a mythic, fantasy film is no easy feat but to deliver one that is original, daring and restricted to a short film and independent budget is an almighty task. Hawk is as close to the finished article as you will find. One can only commend director M. J. McMahon for his ambition for the scale and size of this project, and through captivating cinematography, an astonishing score and a highly original and ambitious plot, Hawk achieves a great deal.

Hawk has many aspects that are powerful, and more that have potential to be powerful, but my feeling towards the content was predominantly confusion. Although it featured some beautiful landscape and a wonderfully soaring score, the film didn't quite seem to do justice to the wonderful idea at its heart. It felt like it should be a lyrical tale of folklore, a mystical underworld land and one boy's journey into understanding the spiritual worlds of nature and beyond human kind, but didn't quite seem to make it.

The tale is told so much in voice-over from the protagonist Rowan, and there are choppy time jumps so often that it loses the linear narrative and breaks up the genuinely touching relationship between a boy – Rowan - and his grandfather. The way the mystical world is portrayed is tense and at times effectively scary, shown in flashes as the character sees it. This is well done, but I wasn't entirely sure why they'd left the world of humans in the first place and as a result of not knowing what was at stake or their reasons for leaving, I didn't care as much about them as I wanted to.

The way to access this world appears to be through drinking magic mushroom tea. Although at first I was sceptical of an old man getting high while looking after his grandson, it became clear that this was a gateway to a more meaningful world. The dialogue is mostly good, but at times teeters rather too close to the edge of being trite and there were some things I'd prefer to have seen happening rather than been told.

The film really came together at the end, where all is revealed quite beautifully and I really felt for Rowan. The point becomes clear through the moral message and the strongest part of this film is the last ten minutes where the pace picked up, I understood the situation Rowan had found himself in and could empathise with it, and it felt like for the first time, there really was something at stake.

Although I feel that the film was let down slightly by the script and the choice to have a narrator, the idea behind this film is very strong, the images are powerful, the music is wonderful and the end is moving. Hawk is definitely worth watching.

For a film that lasts no longer than forty minutes Hawk is a rather interesting and deeply emotional story which is very enjoyable to watch. The film focuses on the life and story of a young boy - Rowan - who must make amends for the mistakes he has made. The film deals with some very complex ideas and these are highlighted through various mediums during the film.

One outstanding feature of the film is the use of visual effects and transitions which allow an ordinary forest to be transformed into a realm of myths, gods and powerful natural forces. The lighting is also used and set up such that there is an ominous sense of foreboding which is present throughout the film; this allows viewers to engage in the film and understand Rowan's fears. Overall the visuals of the film are sapid and highly impressive to watch.

The soundtrack to Hawk is something which must not go unnoticed as it lifts the mood in places and plunges viewers into doubt and worry at others; this has the effect of enthralling the viewer and leading them through the film, and also helps to emphasize key moments very well.

The one major downfall of the film is that the plot can often get very choppy and confusing which meant I wondered what was going on at certain points, the use of flashbacks and flash-forwards is effective but can also leave viewers slightly perplexed during a considerable amount of the film. The script is good and the use of a narrator allows some clarity as to what is going on however there are a couple of points where it becomes slightly cliché and it would've been better to have watched the proceedings rather than have them narrated to us. Nonetheless as the film progresses it becomes ever more apparent why we were shown the various time shifts and by the end of the film everything is cleared up and understandable.

The camera work allows for confusion and pandemonium to thrive and we are able to see the events unfold through the eves of the protagonist which aids to our understanding of the story and the reasons for certain actions. The epic landscapes and rolling clouds used as backgrounds are also effective and play greatly on the concept of isolation from the civilized world. We also get a glimpse at some of the emotions in the film and the settings similarly highlight some of the characters feelings very astutely.

Overall Hawk is a very enjoyable film, combining fantasy and mystery with a story of growth and loss; although it can be quite confusing at points, all is explained by the end of the film and so Hawk is definitely worth watching.

Hawk is a mythical tale of a boy, Rowan, who is removed from the world of man and due to tragedy must make his way through life alone. The film attempts to tackle immense themes, ideas of morality and the human psyche, natural order and man's relationship with nature. Although there is certainly potential for these grand themes to be developed, the films length prohibits it from expressing all it clearly wants to.

Hawk is an extremely beautiful visual piece of cinema. The cinematography and location choices are outstanding. Stunning scenic shots and numerous visuals of the sky and the clouds, perfectly coloured, are what stand out after watching this short. The dream like sequence comprising of, blurred images of the forest, crisp depictions of Rowan's 'crime' and the dark silhouette of the ominous Antlered God result in a distressing but arresting scene. The use of wonderful use of cinematic techniques and colour – the vivid colour in close ups of the Hawk are resounding – as well as a the intricate set, prop and costume design are real triumphs.

Although the film is delivered through superb visuals, I did not feel I was drawn to Rowan as a character. Jumps in the narrative resulted in a lack of connection with the character; we miss Rowan and his Hawk fostering a relationship, and lack an understanding of the intensity of his relationship with the Antlered God who is integral to the films climax. However, these are elements of the film the audience can conjure up for themselves. Although I felt Rowan's grief and burden of being trapped between fantasy and reality, my lack of feeling for him took away from what could be an extremely emotive ending to the film.

Regardless, Hawk is an extremely good watch. The story told is engaging, steeped in mysticism with classic features of a cautionary tale that make it accessible to a diverse audience. Hawk's haunting score and magnificent visuals transcend this film from a Fantasy short, to something much more memorable.