Tim Watcher

Unfortunately I have to agree with the critic written by halopes.

For a short film the cinematography, costumes, sets, sound, editing and everything else is very, very good. This might seem surprising at first but I was told that the technical crew working on this consisted of professionals, so the quality is to be expected. The problem, as usual, resides in the story itself.

Thing is, it's not really a story. To tell a story (or in cinema's case, SHOW a story) you need plot and conflict. You need things that happen to the protagonist: events. These events happen because the protagonist wants something and, for some reason, he can't get it. Tim Watcher has no problems or goals. He's a kind of supernatural entity who observes mankind. That's it. So what we have here is pure exposition. Instead of being shown a story, we're simply learning things about this Tim Watcher individual. Of course, considering the peculiar nature of Tim Watcher and the film's short duration, it's hard to give enough background about him so the movie resorts to Voice-Over Narration. In this case it's used in the worst possible sense which is to give information that otherwise we'd never glean. In fact, if it wasn't for the VO we'd think the character was just a kooky old man going around looking at things. To make it worse the VO also explains what's happening on the screen! The images we're shown are just decoration for the text we're listening to.

I could say that this short film would make a good video for a band or something, but because the images don't stand on their own it's impossible to say that. What's left obviously has value as a measure of the crew's technical capabilities (not incredible, but good) but fails to entertain, amuse, thrill or, at the very least, show a story.

Tim Watcher begins with a wonderful opening credits sequence and then begins to follow a man as he besets upon society.The film seems to be crafted beautifully with great locations, sets, actors and production values.The journey is non linear which tends to shun the average movie goer, but makes a great artistic statement in that life sometimes seems to have no beginning, no middle and no end .Sometimes judgement of others can lead to often a paralysis of the mind,body and soul. Tim Watcher finds that in his observation he lacks the scruples to realize his own fate,judge not.In the end of this short piece it is Tim Watcher who is being watched.

This short-film lacks for one thing, it is too short, I predicted the end and at the time was already thinking that I wanted to see more, but as this is a short budget project we need to be satisfied as is. I must be honest, I didn't expect too much from it, but I was caught unguarded, because I notice good photography, good sound, great performance of the main artist, good idea of the story. I don't know if it is because of the nowadays easier access to the new technologies are helping, but movies in Portugal are getting much better in image and sound in the last years. It's good to see that Portuguese cinema is having this short appearances from younger people, that will for sure give a new era of cinema made in Portugal.

As far as I can understand, TIW WATCHER is the first work of a young director. My doubt is if this is the work of a regular guy who happens to love films or if this is the work of a cinema student, since there is a reference to Oporto School of Arts in the final credits.

Nevertheless, director Ricardo Pinho demonstrates with this movie a total unawareness of some basic notions about cinema. What is a movie? How to tell a story? It doesn't matter, for the novice director. One of the first things you learn in school when you're studying cinema is how to tell a story. You learn that, just like in novels, in movies you should also construct your story in three acts: the introduction, the development and the conclusion. You learn that your story should have a protagonist and an antagonist and that there should be a climax. You learn this is valid for a 3-hour-epic, for the regular movie, for a short film and even, believe it or not, for a 30-second commercial. You also learn there can be levels of subtleness in your approach to the academic structure and that, ultimately, you can even deconstruct it.

In rough terms, TIM WATCHER introduces us its main character and then, the movie ends - the whole movie sounds like the introduction of the characters in Jeunet's AMÉLIE. There are no second or third acts in TIM WATCHER. This is not a parody or an art film, thus you can't even try to justify the disrespect for the academic structure. You are expecting to be told a story, and it doesn't happen. Worst than that, TIM WATCHER defines itself as a warning; and one with no real purpose. It doesn't make a point, or at least, not a valid one. Its point is childish, with a sense of vengeance. The situations portrayed are utterly simple and its approach is Manichaean.

I was expecting a lot more from this short. The movie opens with a rather good-looking credits sequence and you quickly realize you are watching something with better production values than the regular Portuguese short film. I don't know the budget for this movie, but judging for the thanks-list in the end credits, merit must go to the production team for such good connections in a country where's difficult to have doors opened to young filmmakers.

TIM WATCHER seems to be an exercise in style, color and carefully chosen plans, combined with a fine score. That's all. There's nothing else. There's no plot. And that's a shame because it feels like a waste of production values. Hardly, you can see in the regular Portuguese short such diversity of locations and so many available extras to enrich a story.

As absurd as the comparison may sound, I must refer the BMW shorts as a fine example of how you can tell a good story in a very short film severely conditioned to product placement and over-the-top stylish cinematography.

I first viewed Tim Watcher(2003) at triggerstreet.com and was immediately drawn in. There is a lot to be said for the subtleties of the moving image, the composition of the varied scenes, the mood and selection of camera placement. I gathered right away that this was not your typical American short film but rather one that was carefully orchestrated.

I'd recommend that if you haven't checked out the website you should. I was very pleased with this short film. The story was well written - though I would have liked the film to be longer as emphasized by the stylish introduction, the lengthy intro and end credits, and the feeling that Mr. Tim Watcher had much more interesting things to show and tell us. The editing was crisp and the pace kept me in the story as we followed the main character along his journey. In my experience it is often more likely that a short film is too long, that the story is over dramatized by unnecessary footage. Tim Watcher was just the opposite where crisp editing and interesting visuals kept you in the moment and when you reach the end you're not ready to let go. When I watch a film of any length and I am sorry to see it end I know that there is something special contained within.

I look forward to seeing more from Ricardo da Costa Pinho.