Karaoke! (2013) User Reviews (2)

Loneliness

[Theo Robertson · 6/10 · 12 March 2014]

The start of this short struck a chord with me as the protagonist Christopher comments on going in to a hostess bar and jumping to the conclusion that the women in there were prostitutes . I too have had much experience of this in Pokhara Nepal where if you're a thin , speccy middle aged Scotsman with a receding hairline some hot local chick half your age will hold on to your arm and stick her finger in her mouth in an extremely suggestive manner while you buy her drinks all night . Very expensive drinks . , a small cocktail served in a champagne glass costing 700 Nepalese rupees ,about 5 pound sterling . After you've been buying her drinks all night the bar closes and she will give you her telephone number and is a phone number she never answers . I wasn't looking for sex ( Stop sneering up the back there ) and visited this place several times only to be mugged by the same Bollywood sex goddess wannabe every time . I did gain a revenge of sorts where knowing what was coming said I could only buy here one drink that night , so she spent the short evening scoffing most of my drink and rubbing ice cubes on my head . A waitress came over and gave me my bill . I put my hand in my pocket pulled out a wad of 1,000 rupee notes and saw the hostess giving me a murderous look:

" You did have money " she scowled

" Oh " I replied innocently " So I did " and stuck my finger in my mouth

I thought perhaps this reference in KARAOKE might lead to something else but it doesn't really . It does perhaps some up what the short film is about and to me it suggests the loneliness that often comes about living in a city even if you're constantly surrounded by other people in a metropolis like New York . This is reinforced by the number of scenes where Christopher is the solitary figure in the frame and that's my interpretation of it . I notice Bob has suggested watching it twice in order to understand it but to brutally honest it's not really a short I feel compelled to watch again and don't think it's anywhere as deep as it's hinting at but do agree it's well shot and has a very good look about it especially the scenes in the karaoke bar

The fact that it is a deeply personal film is both a strength and a weakness

[bob the moo · 8 March 2014]

It took me a second viewing to really get a grip on this film. On the first time it appears that maybe the central character is cheating on a girlfriend as he has calls and texts he picks up and immediately leaves her company; he seems distant from her and a bit remote. The end of the film and the photo of the director's father adds a lot more context to this but does it in a subtle (ie not obvious) way. I did have to do some reading on the short to know who the photo was and learn that the director lost his own father to cancer and I guess that this is a weakness of the film – that it is personal to the point where it may not mean a great deal to the casual viewer.

This personal thing is also a strength though because we focus on basically the son in the situation and we see him not go through hand- holding melodrama or tearful farewells but rather avoiding dealing with it, hiding away from his girlfriend when talking about it so as to avoid it being real or something he has to talk about. This focus and this realistic content is engaging although at the same time hard to penetrate unless you know what it is about, which is why I see the film as its own worst enemy. The short film genre (if it can be called such) does rather have a target audience accustomed to being drawn in and delivered to within a short period, so having a film where most of it works better when viewed in a context that only comes on a second viewing is not a big plus.

It looks great though and its honestly and realism is there in the selection and delivery of scenes. Corbet is very good (on second viewing) as he sells the character in a way that works on film but is also connected to the real world – few of us have lives filled with Oscar clips, we are generally more silent and awkward about stuff. He fits with the vision of Renzi and produces a short film which works because it is so personal, honest and real but at the same time has its limits for precisely the same reasons. It is well worth watching, but be warned that you will need to watch it twice.