Navigate

I found Nilendra's performance very believable. His expressions told us a thousand words and I loved seeing his vulnerability, it allows the audience to relate to him on a personal level.

It was interesting to watch how human relationships and technology interact and intersect, particularly in the context of a marital relationship breaking down.

The metaphors throughout the film is something to be savoured, and I would recommend this film to anyone who wants to see something a bit different, a bit edgy and out there.

An enjoyable watch for sure!

A highly original and impressive debut film, 'Navigate' revolves around the deceptively simple premise of a man who begins to doubt himself and his relationship with his wife based on the two bits of technology he has become reliant on - mobile phones and his car's GPS system.

'Navigate' is genuinely suspenseful with an unsettling, eerie mood, contrasted with some very funny observations about day-to-day repression in the Australian suburbs, (including an unhinged, shirtless neighbour as an interesting antagonist.) Building on the work of man vs machine classics like '2001 - A Space Odyssey', 'Navigate' is a fresh take on the way technology disrupts the way we construct meaning, decide what is and isn't real, and its capacity for magnifying our paranoias and phobias. Sound design and music are particularly well-used as the main character slowly unravels before our eyes.

Provocative and perfectly paced, 'Navigate' will make you think next time you put too much stock in devices, not people!

This movie is very deceptive in its title. You expect SOMETHING to happen but NOTHING happens. It's slow, dry and terribly written. The actors seem like people that loosely know each other yet the movie tries to convince you they are really old and great friends. The movies spends way too much time with establishing dialogue and unnecessary character development. The actors sound like they are reading directly from a teleprompter. There's way too much pointless b-roll of music and traveling scenes. You will be sorely disappointed if you watch this. It has the feel of being shot on a an iPhone by high school kids. And even that might be doing it too much justice. There's no suspense, there's no intrigue...just a bunch of (4) guys making a unbelievably long and obscure trip where they b*tch and moan and sort out their own simple and lame issues. Skip this movie unless you just enjoy having your time wasted or need dry, pathetic chatter as background noise.

Shalom and hello IMDb & fellow moviegoers alike. I am Matt Gives You His Review, but a humble reviewer on the internet here to give my opinions of the Australian short film: "Navigate". This will be a first for me too as I am used to relaying more thoughts on main stream movies at the cinemas, but gladly I will take this on for truly this film is worth it.

So what's it about? The movie is about a man confronting an issue that has been eating at him thanks to a rather well informed GPS, the end results truly a shocking wake up. A short film that can be used as an allegory perhaps for one confronting the obvious that is staring at him in the face, or one where one better check ones GPS to make sure it's not set on "Jimmy Cricket Conscious" setting lol.

The driving performance (uhm, no pun intended) is from NIlendra Fonseka as the main character Jared, or Cookie affectionately. Showcasing acting chops that of a professional you are right there with him as he is forced to literally confront something he probably has known about but just hasn't accept yet (that or he didn't try to get out the back seat, its what I would of done lol). Some great use of camera angles are utilized here also, really getting into the space of Jared as he goes through this arguably uncomfortable situation, held at a figurative gunpoint by this rather flash GPS system. The movie ends on good ambiguous note like all good short films do leaving the door open ended (or I hope at least open).

Some nitpicks at best maybe would be the nosy neighbor was a bit standouts compared to the rather reserved tone the film keeps, no offense to Lewis Mcleod but I fear he may distract a little too much when he does interject into the scenes. There's a black cut which feels a little jarring compared to the rest of the film but outside of that this is a well presented personal project from all involved, especially Nilendra Fonseka and it shows. In truth I have had the pleasure of working with this man before and I can personally attest to the real dive into character and delivering on performance. A solid first project I believe and well worth the 8 stars I gave. I feel bad I didn't go in more into the performance by Cameron Wright or Heshani Munsinghe but I fear they may dive into spoiler territory which I don't do for reviews sadly (but do check out any of their work too).

A look forward to the next project from these talented people as I do look forward to my next review. This was Matt, thank you for your consideration and do check out this film on Vimeo.

Full disclosure, i was brought on during post production as Sound Editor for this film but want to put my 2 cents out there on such a human condition driven short film.

The insights in this story hit close to home with what can drive us to be less then perfect people and have less then perfect relationships...

I am hugely impressed by what was accomplished by this emerging team of story tellers and can't wait to see what they do next! I'm sure it will delve deep into what makes us tick deep down, which i find very very interesting and unfortunately something lacking in a lot of films, the Director Nilendra has pulled of his debut with amazing results.

A must see short and a film everyone will remember for years to come even if its just niggling in the back of their minds lol.