O Trabalho dos Homens

"O Trabalho dos Homens" ("Men at Work") is an interesting dramedy about two elite snipers during a hostage situation where a woman is kidnapped by a nervous and armed man. They keep waiting for superior orders in order to act and while they are focused on the target and on the radio their patience and quietude makes them engage in random and routinal conversations about a date with their wives that went wrong and more.

What's interesting about this short is how balanced the tension and the humor are, going hand in hand in a situation where we can only imagine as a drama of tense proportions. It's all a matter of perspective when we meet those characters and while the building thrill happen in front of them we find time to laugh at how weird those guys are with their unusual talks.

However, this isn't a great spectacle. Famed writer Fernando Bonassi makes his directorial debut (only film as director so far) and it's a quite good one. But the awards he received at Gramado Film Festival were too much for a project that looks so simple and simply filmed to the point where one can imagine anyone directing in one day - it's just two settings, no much scenery and it can be shot in one day. Had it been longer it could turn out as a fabulous comedy with a plot twist ending.

A nice watch, very compromising. 8/10.