Trainspotting

It is ironic that the pace of this short film is one of slow sentiment and reflection considering that it was made on the run as part of a 4- hour film challenge where the makers were given titles from other films as their starting point and challenge to make something in that time for screening that night. For this film the focal point is an old man looking for a train; he asks a young woman when it is due and, with 30 minutes to wait, the 2 get a coffee and she smiles as he relates what has brought him to the station.

There is a film in here but it is a difficult one to deliver. Personal loss and grief can be very hard to deliver in a film without making it feel mawkish and sentimental – you need time and some way for the viewer to feel the most form the most delicate touches; otherwise you'll have overacted wailing and sentimental music trying to do all your work for you. Here the short doesn't help itself by having piano music from the start and lots of shots of the old man in and out of focus as he waits. The discussion with the woman comes from nothing but yet brings out personal stories which we are meant to be moved by. Perhaps it would have worked with more work but in the time given the film jumps to the emotion and relies on the music and the black & white photography to put the viewer in the emotion.

For me this didn't work and, although the 4-hour window means that the film has to push all the buttons it can, in pushing them so blatantly it pushed me away. Technically it looks crisp and the sound is good considering it was shot outdoors, but in terms of content it tries to force the emotion to make it work and actually prevents it working as a result.