directed by:
Javier Farias written by: Javier Farias genre: Comedy |
A man sits in a cafe, surrounded by people he doesn't know, and pulls out his laptop. A normal thing - perhaps even cliche in nature. As the man prepares to begin his computer related work, he orders a water - seemingly uncaring that he is in a business, using their Wi-Fi and not even buying anything. How rude - and that's only the beginning! As the story unfolds, we become aware that the only mission of this man - is less than acceptable. It has to do with his laptop, the patrons of the cafe, one in particular, and pornography. Hmmm... this could be a funny short film. Right?
Anticipation is not only the key to a great production, it can also hinder one. The setup during act one sets the narrative, and I can't fault this one. Potentially, "Pura Pantalla" could be pretty funny. The problem is that it never actually achieves it's comedic chops. There were two spots I found this film mildly amusing. One involved the cell phone of a girl patron, and the other came at the very end - in the form of a well-to-do looking man giving our hero a taste of his own medicine. Even these scenes however, were worth more of a smirk than a smile. The latter being more of a karma kind of smirk. The truth is that I just didn't find this film all that funny. It sure looked great, but visuals alone do not make a good short film. And yet there was more to "Pura Pantalla" that didn't sit right with me. One could argue that this flick talks up a pervert. Almost glorifies it. As satisfying as it was when the older gentlemen was given his fifteen seconds of fame - giving our hero his just deserts, it was also kind of maddening to see another pervert in the same cafe. "Pura Pantalla" lives in a world where pervs rule it seems. But... again, this film looks good and is done rather well. Does it have a story? Not really - more like the narration of a bad joke. What struck me, was that after I had watched the film, I checked out the iMDB page. So... there is a story of sorts. It's in the description. You may think that made things a little better or easier for me. It actually made things worse. Knowing there is a slight story, but not seeing any of it in the film itself, is worse than there being no story at all. A viewer shouldn't have to read a description, in order to find out what is happening in a movie. It should be shown in the movie. But yes... it's technically competent - no question about that.
When it's all said and done, I just didn't find it funny. It wasn't the content that really bothered me. It wasn't any technical limitation that stood out, it was simply that there was no real story. Even that could be forgiven if it were actually funny. It is not. In my opinion. "Pura Pantalla" is the perfect example of a good looking title with nothing to say. Maybe I'm just not getting it - I guess you'll have to be the judge. |
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