Elefante

Manuel works a boring job, plays squash with his friend Sergio (both of which he dislikes) and at home has a distant wife, distant teenage daughter and a son too young to really know him as a father. When he is diagnosed with something, his life begins to change as he himself turns into an elephant – and not like the movie The Elephant Man, but like the movie Babar King of the Elephants.

This is an odd short film because it has a very simple central idea which makes for a simple but well told story and ends with a satisfying and surprisingly moving conclusion. The meaning behind the specifics is not so important as the way the device is used in the story telling – we are engaged by Manuel early on, then we transition into the transformation which we are engaged by and then we conclude in a simple but effective manner. The idea itself is good and it works well with it making it into something more than it could have been. The message is simple and the makeup (comparatively) crude, but it works and I was nicely touched by it; I doubt I will remember it for years nor would it stand up to closer scrutiny but for a short film based on a good idea, this works and is well done.