MindGait Review
MindGait is a 2021 short film written and directed by James Rasile.
A sci-fi short film that creates a lot of world building in a short amount of time MindGait brings some Christopher Nolan sized concepts to the table that ultimately prove to be a bit too grandiose for the piece as a whole.
There is a lot to be explained in this ambitious piece from Jame Rasile, and we are given a lot of information from an unseen narrator. Something which could be argued as a positive and negative aspect of the film.
On one hand, it delivers us with necessary information, especially in the third act of the film, but on the other it brings to mind the adage that this can be a crutch for information that could otherwise be delivered visually.
With that storytelling debate aside on a technical level there are a lot of positives here. The cinematography from Sheldon Norton is done well throughout, with only one moment where Phynx as portrayed by Manny Rodrigues jumps towards the fenced prison of Dekkora, letting the character fall a bit too much into the shadows with the back light a bit too weak to carry the contrast.
The audio by Marsha Duggan is balanced well with good levels between the characters and the music fitting in nicely. The one nitpick with it though would be the audio effects used sound like they were picked from a stock library, which creates a less than punchy delivery when they are mixed in.
The strongest bit of production here would have to go to the make up and special effects work of Stacey Rasile. The few glimpses of alterations made to the people of the film have a good gory sensibility to it and presents an added layer of context to the characters overall.
This is a short film that brings a lot to the table for better and worse. MindGait is another in a long list of dystopian sci-fi stories, but it brings a new flavor into the mix. There is an intentional feel to leaving the story open-ended for more entries into this universe, which leaves a less than desirable effect, but with the concepts expanded on further could make for a possibly interesting feature film one day.
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Cheers!
Daniel Hess
Film Festival and Award Highlights:
Best Thriller (March 2021) Toronto Independent Film Festival of Cift
Best Thriller (March 2021) Vancouver Independent Film Festival
Semi Finalist London Indie Shorts Festival of 2 Frames
Golden Short Film Festival
Big Sur Film Festival
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