Do Geese See God?

Hmm...

I didn't have a clue what this film was about but the style was amazing. Normally that alone wouldn't be enough for me to rate a movie highly but for some reason I feel compelled to recommend this short on its style alone. It really is quite unique. I particularly loved the sound design - listen to how Underwood's movements are synchronised with the sounds of traffic in some shots. Also, the colour was great - all blues and greens and muted shades. Simple shots seem to have been somewhat re-juvinated and made ten times more interesting, for example when he looks at his watch; or when he picks up the payphone in the station and we get that Homicide-style jump cut/dialogue repetition.

Can't say I get the story in any way whatsoever, even after reading the plot summary, but I'd recommend it just for how it looks and sounds.

For all of you users that are confused by the movie, it is interactive. You can click on the movie at the right time and it changes, breaking the loop.

For those of you who got so mad, either at the editing, the product placement, the 'pointless' theme, etc..... Hey, just take off your watch....

I need to add some more text to this post so it will accept this. It is too bad I have to resort to this type of silly workaround to make a simple point about the movie, one which I hope will help others see it a little differently.

There, I hope that is enough to keep the IMDb gods happy....

Scott

I don't know if others are aware, but there are two versions of this film. I saw the first one streaming, and the second I downloaded from Amazon. In the downloaded version, the film runs through the sequence only about 1 1/2 times before he actually stops and smells the roses, then throws away his watch. I was very confused when I saw this because I think the film already has a surreal psychedelic tone. So I had to go back and watch the first version to see if I was just trippen. I found both versions of the film good, but almost a little too intense to watch. Pehaps that is not a negative from the film-maker's perspective because you do get very involved in the perspective of the "man." I began to feel the anxiety that he felt, however it was almost at an uncomfortable level.

It would have been better to have the instruction for the click on the roses on the first page so that the film did not have to be viewed twice. I thought that was a waste of time. Actually, one viewing was quite enough. I did not see the palindrome until I read the comments of others. In my opinion, that was the most clever part of the film. I felt it was a waste of time and I could have been out "smelling the roses." But, the product placement was interesting and I like the actor. I look forward to viewing the rest of the films in the series and hope they are more interesting. Also, I did not know about the ten line summary and had to rewrite and lose this several times. I am a person of few words.

This movie intrigues as a post-modern existential play. The backdrop of human existence is the fast paced, tecno-driven urban encounter of man and technology. The search for meaning is conveyed by the false sense of urgency or danger. Life is depicted as being driven by screens: plasma screens, watch screens, t.v. screens, pda screens. Flash memory configures and guides it all.

The titles "Dr. Awkward" and Do Geese See God each spell the same thing forward and backward, further symbolizing the relentless swing of the pendulum of life.

The "rat" life, as man in a rat cage running is cleverly depicted by the three blind mice, the mouse that is really the "weasel" which pops constantly from the turning of the handle; the quote of Einstein, re-configured to suggests that "time" cannot save, but confuses. It is the nature of humanity immersed in time to be anxious and driven.

The photo of the untied, clean, unused shoes....and the statement of the street person" I am God" must be heard backward: I am "Dog". To society, only dogs lay around and enjoy things.

Under the metaphor of the flower we accept the message, which is not bland, but sends us to search the rest of the movie for hidden clues to how to be still. We are not to be fooled by the taking off of the watch. That is too easy. As the number 181 is the same number forward and backwards, taking off the watch is just the backward action of putting it on again. We do this every morning and every night, which is symbolized by the repetition of finding the CD and starting the sequence all over again.

The meaning of the film is found in the emotion, the rush, the pace, and the incongruent of the screen life with the evergreen that sits quietly at the "real screen" of the window of the city. Dr. Awkward never look out of this screen, to contemplate the world. He rushes from one manufactured screen to another. Like us.