9 Meter

Daniel is a sixteen year old athlete . His mother has suffered a brain hemorrhage and things are looking very bleak as she lies in a coma . There is hope and every time Daniel tells her he has broken his long jump record she reacts by moving her hand . Realising the gap between the high block flats in 9 metres Daniel believes if he breaks the world long jump metre by jumping between the flats his mother will awaken from the coma

Easy to bring out a mawkish manipulative film with the subject matter but director Anders Walter shows us his discipline and his skills in this short film from Denmark . There's no wailing and gnashing of teeth with an army of screeching violins in the background over emphasising the whole gamut of human emotion on offer . The emotion here feels totally earned . I won't go in to details but because of personal experience two years ago this short really struck a chord with me and I felt a real lump in my throat a couple of times . It's not flashy and we get some of a film making technique that has become popular in the last couple of years where the cinematography is often and deliberately out of focus a little bit and music is present and where you notice it without being over come by it . I say this type of directing has become popular but may be I just notice it more because I do actually like it since it sticks out without showing off . It's too easy to show but Walter walks perfectly along the thin line . There's no melodramatics from the performances as the characters face tragedy with dignity and you have no problem believing these are real people living in the real world . The performances are uniformly natural and underplayed with no need to embellish emotion . A simple look can say a thousand words

I just clicked on Anders Walter filmography on this site and seen that he won the best live action short film at this years Oscars with HELIUM featuring another character on their possible death bed . I've not seen that one ( Why are Oscar shorts so difficult to track down ? ) but would be very interested in seeing what Walter could bring to a feature length movie that doesn't contain dying as a theme . Please don't give him a movie featuring comic book heroes though because this is a director who understands human beings rather than explosions and CGI

One of the things I really enjoy about watching short films is that it is very easy to come to them with a completely clean slate and open mind, probably because you've never heard of them but also because it doesn't feel like a risk if they are no good, because they are generally less than 20 minutes. I came to 9 meter with no knowledge of the subject matter beyond it being a drama of some sort. The plot sees Daniel as a teenage athlete whose specific passion is the long-jump. His mother lies immobile in a hospital bed with a brain hemorrhage and his father is slowly trying to come to terms with having to go with the doctors' advice and turn off the life support. Whether it is real or not, Daniel believes that his mother has moved her finger the last few times he has told her of him breaking a personal record, pushing him to do more in an attempt to wake her up.

This short is very deliberate and slight and it will not satisfy those looking for big moments of emotion to get weepy over, or to show off just how "big" the performances can be or how loud the composer can take his music. Instead it is a film that takes a more realistic approach while also delivering the device of Daniel's efforts having perhaps some influence at all. Through this device we see the hope but we also see it become something pointless as it is increasingly clear that we are not in some magic land where such things will happen and, while we want Daniel to succeed, we also want him to be able to come to terms with his inevitable loss and the sense of powerlessness that he feels.

This aspect of the film is well done for the most part, with Daniel being well drawn as a character. His father is not so well done, which is a limiting factor when viewing, but he is fine as a device. The direction gives the whole film a somber air and the use of music to complement is unobtrusive and well laid. Ultimately the tone of the piece means it is downbeat and doesn't provide a big payoff one way or the other, leaving the viewer to feel however they wish about Daniel and his situation, however it is still effective in its slightness and realism.