Wenn irgendetwas passiert, liebe ich dich

My husband just put this on one night. Neither of us knew what it was about. It was so heartbreaking. I was crying and couldn't go to bed with that being the last thing on my mind.

Plot

If Anything Happens I Love You is a beautifully illustrated animated short film that takes us on an extraordinary emotional journey of two parents struggling to overcome the hurt left by a tragic event that leaves their family changed forever. The film is a stunning tale that juxtaposes the excruciating pain one can feel as well as the resilience of the human spirit. If Anything Happens I Love You is a touching experience for anyone who has ever loved and lost.

Cast

No cast, no dialogue and made by people off my radar

Verdict

It's common knowledge that I've cried to five movies but short films until now hadn't garnered that reaction. If Anything Happens I Love You had me standing throughout, transfixed to the screen and blubbing like a newborn.

Generally I dislike this arthouse animation style but here the content is so endearing, so well made and so close to home I simply didn't care about this and took it for what it is. And what is it? A masterpiece.

This is simply wonderful and one of the best things on Netflix, perhaps even the greatest short film ever made. It destroyed me, I cried my eyes out and yet announce that everyone should give this 13 minutes of their life.

Rants The price of American freedom? Countless dead children so that Joe McShootface can have his manhood extension. If you're going to allow everyone to have an item that serves the singular purpose of killing others can we at least give them free mental healthcare and news that doesn't tell them to hate everyone? For crying out loud people, what did you think was going to happen? I hate guns more than I hate any type of person but even I wouldn't trust myself with one. No guns = No mass shootings = No children catching bullets to the face #simples

The Good

• Wonderfully made
• Powerful and heartfelt
• A message than resonates
• Simply beautiful

The Bad

• Still not keen on this style of animation.

The parents are sad. The reason behind their sadness is revealed. Now you and the parents are sad. The end.

I'm not used to watch short movies but I would recommend this one, it made me stop and think about all the families that go through what the parents in the movie experience.

This film may be short but it packs a punch. Incredibly needed today around the conversation of gun safety and grieving over those lost.

How exactly does one tackle the heavy subject matter of coping with the loss of a loved one? There is no proper answer, because as challenging as it is, there are multiple ways to handle the message. What matters most of all is how earnest you are in terms of your topic as a whole.

In the case of If Anything Happens I Love You, actors/filmmakers Will McCormack and Michael Govier took the risk of painting a portrait of a tragedy through gun violence.

The result is nothing short of emotionally resonative, as they chose the brilliant art form of animation to communicate their themes of depression and memorabilia through effective body acting and a gritty color palette. Every artistic choice done for this film gives off the necessary effect of trauma that can come from the terrible news one can receive from losing someone close to them. Given that the film is shown from the POV of a husband and wife who have grown further apart from a horrific occurrence in their own lives, their shadow figures and lighting contrasts convey all their inner emotions better than any dialogue ever could. The somber score by Lindsay Marcus also lets each scene speak for itself through subtle harmonics to let the visuals speak more.

However, I think what makes this short twice as effective now is that it was released in the year of 2020. In this year of global viruses, death of innocent civilians happening more and more, and people growing more and more paranoid, this film comes off as a bold statement on how those who have been hurt the most. We always hear about tragedies and downfalls of people from unnecessary violence or outbreaks, but rarely do we actually see how individuals have been affected by the outcomes in the long run. It is more important now than ever to really listen and see what those who have struggled coping with the loss of someone they care for, whether you live in the United States or anywhere else. Sometimes, seeing something with your own eyes through art is the better way to understand how others may end up feeling from losing someone they care for than written words or articles.

If you have Netflix, there is absolutely no reason to skip out on this film. Sure, it may be short, but it conveys so much more than if it were a feature. Clarity through metaphorical storytelling is what makes these serious issues worth hearing out over all.