directed by:
Adam Walters written by: Adam Walters genre: Adventure |
Two sisters. Two different people veering in and out - and around one and other. Variations of the same life, that changes more and more as time goes on. Family relationship issues and even guy problems - marriage problems - all permeate the atmosphere but still play second fiddle to the water and the waves. And yes. To modern technology as well - in the form of a phone. This is the atmosphere of "Stiltsville Sisters" from writer, director Adam Walters. A short film about two sisters with a less than perfect relationship - together on the water.
Family is often said to be the most important thing - but what happens when people drift apart? Even sisters are not immune, and knowing that, makes it all the more difficult when you become estranged. Yet sometimes something as simple as a day to hang out can help. So simple and also so complex. Perhaps the best message I got from this short film, is how easy it can be for family to fall back in line. To put aside time and distance if all the right things are in place. That old saying about not seeing a brother or sister in years - and once together, feeling like you never left. It's little adventures like this one that help us stay connected, and even help to heal. Or, I could be completely backwards about everything I've just watched... ... because "Stiltsville Sisters" is a french film with no sub-titles. And the auto generated mess YouTube has supplied is really hard to follow sometimes. I suppose the auto generated sub-titles really weren't that bad. I could clearly see when the onscreen dialog made no sense, and I sort of made up my own lines in those situations. I think I got the jist of Adam Walters short film, but may have missed the finer points. I can say this however, "Stiltsville Sisters" really made me wish I could speak French. Perhaps creating sub-titles for this film, for all who don't speak French, would help viewers like myself understand more - then again... finding out how people see this film on visuals alone... has it's own particular rewards as well.
Writing of the sisters themselves, portrayed by Anna Carvalho and Alix Richard, I'm left quite impressed with what was accomplished. Again, going back to the language barrier, I still had the sense these two woman were actually sisters. Dialog aside, there was a chemistry that felt a little strained and totally sibling-like. I'm not sure if this was intentional - through direction of the characters actions or reactions, or simply a true - real life chemistry. Either way, these two worked beautifully together. That included the feelings of slight apprehension and tension at times. Visually, I also have no complaints. "Stiltsville Sisters" contains plenty of visual eye candy - pulled from the surroundings and captured nicely by the camera. Maybe sometimes a little more distracting than they should have been, the benefits far outweighed the cons. No question about that. On the whole, the production of this film was far above average. A tribute to the hard work from both the cast themselves, and the small crew who put this all together. At the end of the day, "Stiltsville Sisters" was time well spent. I do believe that maybe it was a little under dramatic during certain points. Perhaps it had some cards left un-played - but still got it's point across. I would be curious to revisit this flick with some proper sub-titles. See if any of my thoughts would change. For right now however, a solid three stars. No question about that. |
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