I watched “Camera No. 8” and froze, as if lost in a mirror maze.
This short film provokes reflection, literally makes you look deep into yourself, and indulge in the comprehension of what you saw. Why not? We are human, it seems that this is different from animals.
Often, we're unhappy with life. We are oppressed, deprived of choice, driven into limits, pressured from all sides.
Who is to blame?
Yeah, everybody. Every day, following the rules of others, we like to dream that one day we will break free. Someone dreams of money, someone of a beautiful car, someone to buy a house, someone to live where the sun is always, someone to be loved, someone to be loved. Our dreams are so enticing, so beautiful. In their sweet slumber, there is no time to think where freedom really is. We are so eager to break out of the prison that it seems to go beyond its walls is already happiness.
Where? Why?
If you think about it, the answer is obvious.
We are walls. Without changing yourself, you cannot change anything.
I loved this short film, so I wanted to make it up. . .
At first it seems like a one-off trinket-entertainment. However, not immediately, but it turns out that it contains a global meaning, addressed primarily to the seekers of the better fate, as well as, oddly enough, suicidal people and everyone who shares the beliefs about the soul locked up in a TV prison.
A parable illustration of proverbs: ' Stupid bird your house is not nice' and ' From good do not seek'.
Nowadays, many people love to talk about the summit on which the mind has built people. To talk about visionary thinking - how important and in demand it is. It is often heard how everyone around them likes to put themselves above others and their own kind, always determined by the most intelligent sages in any room.
However, have we come far from, say, the noble kingdom of birds, for example, pigeons? The pigeon does not want to think about where the grain flows on the grain farm. He sees food. And lots of food. He is intoxicated by hunger and, at that moment, the bird considers this a gift of manna from heaven, one after another, like a conveyor, drowning in myriads of seeds with the subsequent release of the mass into the crusher (remember the mechanism of the pit for subsequent grinding). And are we not likened, strong and independent, to the same natural folly and the same vices, not thinking ahead?
People are funny and it's not a discovery. Even if they know about the obvious trap, they will try to appeal to reason and to the last to refer to the importance of their own mistakes. They will look for loopholes and will always, in case of failure, rely on an unhappy fate, in response to: You'll regret it, you were warned.
And this is our main problem, hidden in the vacuum of a matchbox. There is no way out – and never will be.
The moral of this fable is this.
1 Cool your impulsiveness.
2 Any solution – prepare for a few days, considering all possible moves and exits.
3 But do not drown in doubt, thus not going far from the predecessors.
7 out of 10
Many people have dreamed of getting out of the box their lives have become. Family, work, all sorts of duties and debts that only seem insignificant, but when they become an unbearable number, then it is time to soar. And yes, some people even managed to do it by just running where their eyes look and then starting a new life. Sometimes it really helped, but more often than not, the person put himself in a box even narrower than the one he had before. And this "box" will be discussed today. So this is Room 8.
The film takes place somewhere in the Soviet Union. Does that even matter? Yes and no. It so happened that the Soviet Union is presented to people from behind the bumper, as something wild and incomprehensible. The people there are angry and unsociable. There is no free will, and man is the slave of the system. So it turned out that a film dedicated to a man who found himself in a confined space unfolds in a country that was fenced off from the world by an iron curtain. I wonder why feudal Japan was not chosen? It doesn't matter.
So the main character for some sins is put in prison, in which there is already one prisoner, apparently an intellectual. An elegant suit and book are attached. In addition to the highly intelligent, and therefore untalking cellmate, our hero discovers a large red box, which he opens despite the warnings of his fellow unfortunate. What does he see? And he sees exactly the same camera only in miniature with himself inside. And of course, our hero is interested in how it all works. No wonder they say that the cat died from curiosity.
In fact, this picture can be given many metaphors for example, that the viewer appears some interpretation of the game of the gods, only in miniature. In the end, it is very common to find paintings where the Greek gods play chess, but the pawns in that game are people. We can also assume that we have some interpretation of natural selection. Here is a box that can be both your salvation and your curse, so think about it, what to do with it and is it worth doing anything? There are many interpretations that can be attached to this film, but will any of them be true or are all true? I have already given you the answer.
A short meter is certainly a comfortable thing. With the help of it, you can tell simple, not devoid of meaning stories, without spending time and money on shooting something larger. But at the same time, short films are a separate format that exists separately from full-length films (for example, various awards). And probably the most rational and skillful use of a small meter is the highest talent on the part of the creators of such paintings.
Therefore, the subject of this review - "Room 8" - and awarded Bafta as the best of the short films in the past year. 8 minutes were used wisely, the story turned out to be intriguing and not stupid. That’s just the authors, apparently, have never seen a much older, but very similar short film – “The Horse Beetle”. Stylistically and in sensations, they are similar, and only the underlying message differs, and then partly - yes, in the novelty escape from the system, and in the "horse" - from itself. But in both cases, the destruction of man through man. Then his pride, forcing them to chase the bug around the room, then, in Room 8, already curiosity and Eureka! - suddenly the hostage of the system decides to escape from her, and even understands how. But he's playing against himself.
Interpretations of this film can be different, but it is “escape from the system” or “fighting the system” that seem most obvious. The only thing that spoils the composition is the city at the beginning. If the authors wanted to shoot about the room (which they did), then why show the city, despite the fact that it has absolutely no plot and visual value? A dark screen, a snap of locks, and then the picture is the perfect start in this case. And what actually showed in the beginning - spoiled the impression, as well as the above-mentioned similarity with the short film Nolan 17 years ago. However, not so much and spoiled to refrain from praising the creators and not to advise this film to the audience. Take a look and take something out of it for yourself.