On S'Embrasse?

I don't really know but I think this video might be about the thought process of a man being left. I question the reality of the girl, Julie. I feel as though she takes on the form of an actress rehearsing for a movie audition because Paul has been running over the situation in his mind so many times. He's seen everything that has happened up to that point, every word, every intonation and had time to think it over. Time to think of why she said the things that she did, what lead her to do it the way she did, and what will come next.
To him, the situation has been run over and over in his mind so many times that now it's like an audition, it's like he's acting. He knows exactly what she's going to say and how he wants to reply. But he doesn't. We don't actually see him reply because, well, maybe he can't bring himself to just say it. Because it was easier to do in his mind with someone that isn't real than to do it with the real deal. The girl he has all the emotional baggage with. On the other hand, maybe he does say it in the end. Maybe he's shocked at how easily he was able to pull back from the situation and just say it.
Jean-Luc Abel plays his role so very well. He manages to be cold and reserved, but not unfeeling. You can tell that Paul is sad, that there's more to it than just rehearsing to him, even before his real lover comes out. He isn't overly emotional but but he hints at deep pain so subtly and effectively that I really ended up feeling terribly for this beautiful older gentleman. No explicit reason is given for sympathizing with Paul, but you end doing so because everything is hinted to just right, in the acting, in the writing. It all comes together to make a wonderful scene in which I became emotionally invested.
To her credit Alice Carel, Julie, also does very well. She convinced me that she was just overcome with a simple, honest, but ultimately unwarranted and surprising emotional response to the situation. It crossed my mind that she was written this way to reflect Paul. Because he was unable to break out into tears and show his emotions she was there to do it for him. Either way, I didn't feel she was trying too hard, and it all seemed genuine.
That's what this film really was, it was genuine. It had a slow and sad cadence, a quiet sort of underlying, sad-grey-rainy-melancholy-morning feel to it which really struck me. This is an excellent example of the fine films being showcased on FutureShorts, a channel I grow fonder of every day.

The Option of War

I once heard it said that Franz Kafka and his friends would laugh so hard at the stories that Kafka wrote that they had to take breaks from reading them to catch their breath. I then take it that I must read his stories with comedy in mind. I never really found Kafka all that funny, though. I've always found him very dark and slightly frightening. I feel Nick Fox-Gieg, the animator for today's film, succeeds in created the perfect atmosphere for this Kafka adaptation. Fox-Gieg and Kafka actually seem like a perfect mix to me. Their styles are both dark and demented with a hint of humor. We've seen from his video A Good Joke, that he has a sense of humor. From other videos, such as Bird's Eye Bull's Eye or Six Premonitions, we've seen that he has the potential, nay a penchant for dark and eerie films. Their styles seem to me to be totally complimentary. Add to that the fact the sound effects and voice acting are superb and you've got yourself a recipe for success.
The metallic grind of the tanks in the opening scene, the beautifully soft yet tormenting narrator, the frightened boyish pleading of the private; all are perfectly chosen, and perfectly executed for this film. The animation is also well done. I'm not always a fan of his work, it becomes busy and too quick for my liking sometimes, but in this video it was just right. It was frenzied and fluid and distorted, just right.
I really like Fox-Gieg, I highly recommend his other work, it all makes for great viewing. My two favorites, next to this one of course, are The Foxhole Manifesto and A Good Joke. Another job well done for Nick.