The Bloody Olive

This film was shown before a sneak preview last Friday in Munich. First, the audience frowned, due to the film being b&w, neither in german nor english, and being subtitled. Just a little later, 300 guests were bursting into laughter at every new turn the story took. This film definitely has more power than "Wild Things". And I really like the combination of the Bogart-gentleman-ish style with the slight atypically panic aspect that shines through in a very subtle way. Well done, really!

Although this short film has a very high score and favorable reviews, it just didn't do much to capture my interest. For me, there were just too many twists and turns and after a while the whole thing became a bit tedious--though the film is good from a technical point of view.

The film is made in black and white and deliberately tries to copy the look of a 50s Film Noir style movie. What I particularly liked was the husband--his mannerisms and way of speaking (though in German) fit the film's style very well. The man and his wife are planning on a Christmas Eve celebration when the husband's boss comes in to announce that he knows the man has embezzled company funds. However, the husband pulls out a gun and shoots the man. Then, in a twist, the man comes back to life--apparently the whole thing was staged. Not a bad idea, but when this happens again and again (with the boss, the wife and the husband) all appearing to be killed again and again and in each case you learn that it's all a trick, the whole thing becomes very tiresome. There are too many twists, too many faked deaths and too much to keep my interest. One or two twists in a short film are fine--not perhaps as many as 10.

Stylish and well made, this is a film that seemed to have no idea when to quit.

We find ourselves in a film noir of sorts on Christmas Eve. Mylene and Werner are preparing their warm, cosy home for a intimate night in when the doorbell rings. They welcome in Werner's business partner Sam, who has come with a smile and a nice bottle of wine for them. However Sam also has another agenda and informs Werner that he has uncovered proof that he has been stealing from the company. With such a simple predicament, Werner acts quickly and shoots Sam dead on the spot; however, this is film noir, and nothing is ever that simple.

With short films you often find that the running time lends itself to one or two elements or only one joke played over a few times; and so it is with this film which essentially has the same joke over and over until the end. With some short films it doesn't work and even 5 minutes feels too long however here the joke gets better every time it is exaggerated and repeated. The noir setting really helps because it does feel quite authentic and convincing – perhaps making the joke seem funnier for at once being part of the genre setting but then also feeling so very out of place as well. The cast play it well and stay in character even as the film's twists and turns demand them to change their demeanour etc.

Overall the end result is a very funny short film that is silly yet great fun. I can't imagine that it would stand up to repeat viewings that well but I certainly enjoyed it and, far from being tired of the joke after the 5th or 6th time, I found myself laughing harder each time.

This film is the most subertfuge laden film I have ever seen. It is so complicated to work out as to who is actually in the know and who is bluffing. Not everyone can know everything.

This film is expertly shot and the twists and turns the plot takes are though out well.

The film is shot in black and white and this adds to the imagery of the film.

Tantislising and so succintly done.