The world of parents after the loss of a child Grief at the loss of a loved one is a very difficult time for many people. And, especially, a very “heavy burden” falls on the burden of parents who literally “outlived” their children. And for them the most difficult test in life: forgive, let go and move on. Because of this, their children can not rest and go to heaven, because they are “worried” about their mothers and fathers. This is grief and wanted to show in his short animated film “If something happens, I love you” Will McCormack (known as the producer of the Disney cartoon “Toy Story 4” and the role of the detective series “C.S.I.”). The crime scene") and Michael Govier (played supporting roles in the TV series "This Is Us", "Conan"). The world premiere was on March 7, 2020. The film is titled “Grieving Parents Struggle with the Loss of Their Daughter After a School Shooting.” An elegy on grief.” As Google’s all-knowing translates: Grieving parents struggle with the loss of their daughter after a school shooting. The Elegy of Mountain.
And it would be great if I could finish on that note. But everyone is interested in the full picture. As stated earlier, the main idea of the short is to show the grief of parents who lost their daughter and how they are trying to cope with it. Personally, I think they show this struggle strangely. I'll explain why. If this statement has a purely subjective point of view, therefore, if I do not agree, I do not dare to suggest my rightness. I would also like to point out that I started watching this work before I read the description.
So let’s start with green and inexperienced reasoning. From the very beginning, we are shown a gray “household” picture of a married couple. While they are eating, their shadows are arguing among themselves. Maybe they are talking to each other mentally. Most married couples communicate this way – telepathically. I wonder at what age this comes. Well, let's not get hung up on that. Let the struggle with grief be portrayed this way. Then the man with an uneaten plate, as befits their appearance, demonstratively left, and the unconfident wife wanted to offer her meatball, but immediately fell silent as soon as she saw her husband’s back. Because of this situation, it seemed to me that it was not about loss, but about a quarrel between two “telepaths”. But these thoughts did not sit long in my “baby” head. This event was the closing of the room in front of the cat. And the second bell was she was collecting laundry from the wash, and there was a blue print T-shirt and her reaction to the find. It's certainly not a joyful reaction to finding something you lost somewhere. She was completely different. And from that moment on, you can understand what they say about their child together, but this is what happened to her, while the viewer (such as myself) does not know. And the transition proceeds smoothly with the help of a ball that rolled into that "room that was closed a few frames back." Sorry for my humor, but do these parents have superpowers? Or did ghosts open the door? I would have believed in the latter more, but their shadows were with them all the time, and no other "extraterrestrial beings" had yet been shown. Miracles can't be called anything else. In this room, the ball, using inexplicable physics, turns on the tape recorder. Everyone in the house hears music and comes into this room, which I repeat, my wife closed a few minutes ago. But if she didn't pay attention, we'll do the same. They take turns coming into this room. But a little girl comes out of a tape recorder playing with a cat. And while married couples talk about something, we are immersed in their happy family memories. But this continues until the girl goes to school. And that's where they're trying to prevent something by trying to stop it. Until time machines are invented, the past cannot be changed. Then we are shown only the entrance to the gym, where shots are heard, children's screams and goes into flashing lights from the ambulance. The message, like the title itself, read, “If anything happens to me, I love you.” And this is where the grief is shown by the parents sitting on the cliff of the canyon on either side with each other's backs. Here you can see that the girl became a ghost, as her relatives do not see her and go on opposite sides. Due to the fact that she can not connect their hands, she turns into a “huge miracle” that took a large piece of stone where the shadows were so that they “rolled” and felt that they are not each for himself, but one organism. Standing nearby, the bright sun smiled like the beginning of a “new day,” no matter how symbolic it sounds. But the fact that they no longer see the “live” daughter, they cried.
To sum up, I can say that the struggle is shown with the help of shadows that try to help, although this support also looks peculiar. The only one who did anything was their deceased daughter. In general, the short film is very good, although there are small disadvantages. Music and animation are pleasant for the ear and eye. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I don't understand parents who lost their children before they died. I hope I don’t have this sad experience. So my debriefing may seem cynical and cruel to others, but I didn't mean to offend anyone.