Destiny

it could be better if the story was not so predictable. or, more exactly, well known. because this is the key problem. the animation is good, the character not bad. but the subject was used, in better manners, in many others occasions. and this is the only sin for the story of a man preoccupied by time .

This is now the second or third short film I've seen which looks for all the world like Pixar but actually comes from French students in an arts college; not sure if there is a connection there but recently I watched short animation Electroshock and felt it did a very good job despite falling just short on the content. Ironically my feeling is the same here - like it just needed a little bit more but still did the job pretty well. The plot sees a man obsessed with clocks getting up, going through his perfectly synchronized morning routine before stepping out and getting hit by a bus. He walks up instantly to find himself back in bed but a few second behind the previous version of himself, with the potential to therefore save himself or, fail and continue this same loop.

The result is a brief overlapping Groundhog Day where the man tries whatever he can to stop the accident. Visually it is very impressive, with nice shots and a style and quality that is approaching Pixar – just the problem that the content doesn't get that high. The various attempts are amusing at best, benefiting from the pace of delivery more than the content. It isn't as funny or as visually clever as it needed to be to really hit the high marks, although it is at least amusing and has a nice post-credit scene too. Kudos to the students because it is technically great and also shows potential in the material, but with a polished and sharper script, it could have been a lot stronger.