43,000 Feet

A man with about 3 minutes to live talks calmly for about 8 minutes.

Need I say more ? There is no emotion, no drama, no humour. According to me, nothing the protagonist says is remotely interesting. Let's just call it a perfect waste of a perfectly good premise. Technically very well done but a bore nonetheless.

A man is about to fall 43,000 feet and contemplates all the implications of his plight. I found his mathematical train of consciousness to be so engaging. Being a statistician, he has knowledge of all factors, plus a human optimism that is almost joyful, The calmness in his voice gives everything a counter to dramatic storytelling.

Statistician John Wilkins finds himself falling out of a plane and calculates that the moment of impact will take place in three minutes and forty eight seconds

What attracted me to this short film is the snappy premise . A man falls out of a plane and finds himself about to hit the ground . I wonder how he gets out of that one ? I also caught WORLD WAR Z on the Honest Trailer website showing the laughable " Oh how does Brad Pitt escape a plane full of zombies " sequence and no matter what anything would be an improvement on that , though I was curious how 43,000 FEET could achieve a stunt sequence without the budget . To be honest this isn't the point of the film and if you're expecting something spectacular you're going to be disappointed . Instead the film takes a philosophical approach as to what may happen if you suddenly find yourself sky-diving without the benefit of a parachute . One thing that is noticeable is the narrator has a calm , calculating rather aloof tone which reminded me slightly of how Mr Spock might meet probable death but I'm guessing this is to make the audience concentrate on what is being said , same as flashy visuals would detract from the dialogue . I also found strange that a statistician wouldn't mention that travelling by aeroplane is the safest form of travel . As it stands this is a fair short but nothing outstanding

I have seen short film before where really the narration sets the tone and the rest falls in around it perfectly to complete a whole – Bullet in the Brain is one very good example in the later stages and, although 43,000 Feet doesn't compare in terms of quality, it does have the same structure and effect. The story is a man falling to his (probably) death from an airplane while his inner thoughts calmly narrate his plans, his advice to others in the same situation and so on. In terms of content there is not too much of real impact or meaning here but yet it engages throughout and you do pretty much hang on each word, whether it be a story, logic, reasoning or truths. Looking back from the position of a few seconds after it finishes, you may feel like me that it was a stylistic piece rather than a satisfying one but this is not too big a problem.

It does work as style and I enjoyed the animation and the supporting pieces of film in terms of the structure of the film, while the narration from Dylan Pharazyn is very good with its even, careful tone – not a whisper but the sort of deliberate low tone that makes you lean in a little bit to be sure you hear him as he goes. Ultimately it doesn't amount to much and the idea doesn't come to a big impact (well, apart from the one awaiting John Wilkins) but it is nicely engaging as it goes as the visuals, narration and dialogue fit well together to work in this way.

I am not good about statistics . But I love tales. This film gives both and it does a real good job. So, it is just a simple, well made portrait of life and its basic traits. And that makes it a good reflection support for each of its viewers.