"Hurting A Pigeon" from writer, director Theofanis Topsachalidis is a strange bird indeed. For me, it's one of those rare titles that can literally be taken multiple ways, depending on who is watching. Many movies, especially independent ones, can mean different things to different people, on one level or another. In the end however, the basic story and plot generally remains similar for most films, leaving many of the minor plot points up for debate by anyone who wishes to do so. "Hurting A Pigeon" is different because it literally, could be interpreted as a completely different story by multiple people. Not just with the minor plot points, but with the general story as a whole. It's also amusing to think that I could literally play this film in reverse, and come up with the same story conclusions as if I had played it normally. The palindrome of the film world. Even more amusing? Multiple people can not only get a different interpretation of this movie, but also have factual points to back up their claims. By "factual" I am referring to the elements contained in the film... of course. So, back to the top ladies and gents... I present to you "my" interpretation of what happening within this interesting piece of short filmmaking. Our nameless leading character, a candle maker by trade, has entered that point in his life we call the mid-life crisis. Questions regarding himself, and his world, have compelled him closer to thoughts of mortality, right, wrong and generosity, growth and personal sacrifice. Around him, contained within his small corner of the world, things are changing. His decaying neighborhood is seemingly earmarked for destruction, and possibly modernization. People are being left without homes and some people, just don't see a point in trying to help. Time marches on as they say and for our candle maker, the tragedy of Shakespeare's Macbeth holds a lot of personal truths. Potential developers are employing thugs to clear the area, and our leading man is one of the last hold-outs. Or... the story could be something like this: A new company, say, an electric company, has entered into the area and are looking to force people into becoming new clients. Although a good man at heart, our candle maker goes to great lengths to showcase, in public, he is a "hardened" man. After refusing to sign on, the company has sent some goons to "incline" our leading man to jump onto the bandwagon. I could go on with a few more variations of story concepts I think could apply to this title, but I'm sure you get the point. "Hurting A Pigeon" is all about the viewer. How they think. Their world views and personal experiences. The fact we could all play the "point, counter-point" game for whatever we "actually" think this title about, is what makes it so interesting. Visually, Theofanis Topsachalidis manages to nail it. A washed out dirty color scheme to go with the washed out dirty locations. I was quite impressed, especially when considering this is a no budget film. The edits were all decent enough, save a few extreme close-up shots that literally, made me think of old kung-fu movies. The little dialog in the movie, including the Macbeth dialog, was all loud and clear. Although I had to use the sub-titles. In reality, this was an excellently produced no budget film. Impressive but not world changing by any stretch. I loved the open nature of this film. Alas, it also brought down my rating a little. Even when it works, such an open concept - story-wise - is a dangerous thing. You truly need a clear cut path to go for perfection. If you manage to leave things open for the viewer to interpret, and still have a cohesive story holding it all together, you're a true master. "Hurting A Pigeon" has the open nature, but lacks a true story. A concrete one anyhow. And yet... it still works. You may not get a hard-core literary masterpiece, but you can take away multiple narratives that all seem to work. How often does that happen? Even with a blockbuster? At the very least, I truly enjoyed the mental work-out of putting together how each potential story "could" be the true one. No matter how you slice it, "Hurting A Pigeon" was definitely worth watching. Another reason I love reviewing independent film.