Please Hold

I enjoyed this short movie mostly because I found it relatable. With the privatization of prisons, ran by for-profit corporations with no care for the individual, and with the automation of customer support, the story of a guy who is mistakenly imprisoned and can't get to talk to a human is not too far-fetched.

I would have given it 10 stars if not for some inane details, such as the guy falling asleep while calling the LAPD chief of police. The movie would not have suffered without that silly scene, the call would have cost as much just by being on hold.

The power and velocity with which Please Hold affected me was truly amazing. It triggered a near immediate empathetically emotional response. This short made me feel so anxious and twisted up that I'm still sitting here in a daze while writing this; thank goodness it was only 19 minutes, any more and I'm not sure I could've handled it.

There is little wonder Please Hold is being talked about for awards. Every aspect was excellent, save perhaps the "soft" ending. A thoughtful comment on the present state and trajectory of our prison/justice system, Please Hold is a dystopian postmodern day societal horror story worth viewing. Viewers should be advised to watch at their own risk.

Postscript (since we're on the topic) - It's time to END for profit prisons. One would think this is an obvious error for a modern civilization to stumble into; But here we are, building one after another. For profit prisons can only make money by keeping people locked up. The more prisoners, the more tax dollars that are allocated to that prison. In order to stay "in the black", a for profit prison must continuously stay plus 3/4 full. Minor infractions become months to years tacked on to an inmate's time. Call your government representatives and tell them where you'd prefer your tax dollars be spent. It would be better to spend our tax revenue on just about anything else other than attempting to change Please Hold from fiction to reality.

I must hand it to the people involved in this short. They made afilm which is both humourous, - and it's in that,whchits so very frightening.

A young ma's on his way to work, sometime in the not too distant future, when he's alerted- on his mobile phone- that he's under arrest.

He hadn't done anything, but, it's due to the impersonlaisation of everything that he's locked up, and faces up,to 4u years.

The 'public defender's is nothing better than 'Clippy'from Microsoft Bob - and it's due to the failure(s) of all the voice controlled services where Matteo (the main character)fights his battle.

Ideally hope that this short leads to a good future for those involved- from direction, and all those behind the camera, to theterrifi performance.

Thought-provoking. Takes the viewer through a roller coaster of emotions ranging from humor to fear to anger. Enjoyable short watch. 10 for Originality.

Futurama Season 3 Episode 11 "Insane in the Mainframe"

Fry is falsely arrested and detained in a Robot Insane Asylum where he has to battle with technology trying to get a hold of ANYONE who can help get him out.

This Short literally uses the exact premise with mateo/Fry going crazy trying to prove hes not supposed to be in this facility full of technology/robots

Its very black mirror... but... again... futurama did this exact thing 20 years ago.

5/10 its not a bad little short, just unoriginal.