User reviews

Interesting film but it leaves me unsatisfied.

I recognize the looping, undending nature of the film may be part of the commentary, but that doesn't make it any more enjoyable.

The fact that I had to watch it in a small window on my screen probably detracted from it as well. I'd rather have it be available in larger formats for those who wish to use up the bandwidth. But that's a separate issue.

How a film with so much pseudo-action and intensity made me bellow one of my favorite Homer-isms, "Bo-ring!" is beyond me. I guess that's what happens when you have a good production but a story that really goes nowhere.

Then again, maybe I'm just too dim for this film.

That said, I LOVE the fact that Amazon is following the "BMW Films" lead. Go Fallon!

I won't pretend to be at all well-versed in short films, but David Slade's Do Geese See God? gets its point across well enough. Here, a man seeks salvation from mysterious instructions giving him arbitrary tasks. In the end, he realizes the foolishness in never stopping to smell the roses, shown here as him never, well, stopping to smell the roses.

One could probably interpret it a few different ways, of course. As I described the tasks the man must go through as "arbitrary", I began to wonder whether the director might have intended a subtle jab at religion. The meaning, of course, would not change should this be the case: enjoy the pleasures of life before you waste it looking for something more. Who knows?

Though the bit about the roses is a little heavy-handed, everything else is here. Take the 10 minutes out of your life to check it out, its worth the watch, and if it seems repetitive at times... I suppose that is just the point. 8/10, perhaps.

What a fantastic short!

I would not have picked up on Dr. Awkward being a palindrome without the help of other reviewers, so I wanted to add some thoughts to the theme as well. Did anybody notice that the shoulder bag strap that the human/rat wears is labeled with the infinity sign? That's when it occurred to me that the character isn't being referred to box 181, it's a call to return the character to the same struggle, over and over again, for infinity - the infinity sign is in between two parallel lines on the box key.

Same DVD, same run, same message, and this snatch of time starts over again.

What I enjoy about the theme is that the cycle continues only as long as the character lets it continue.

There's some really interesting post-modern theology in this short: humanity's view of God, of time, of the "important" things in life.

The film is a metaphor for "the rat race." Get it? That's why the rat imagery appears throughout the film. All over the film. The film is a rant against the rat race. The lesson, therefore, is the more obvious "hey, we need to stop and 'smell the roses.'" I found the film enjoyable, and I accepted the recurring scenes as they were intended: without them, you'd have no film. So I simply didn't let the repetition get to me. I looked for inconsistencies in the images as I watched them again and again; that is, I looked for changes during the recurring events. (No, I didn't see any.) But, again, the rat race metaphor is really very clever, and I didn't understand the rat metaphor (assuming I'm correct) until the film started its second cycle. I did not find the "product placements" to be intrusive -- which I'm sure is what the film makers intended.

Repetition is fine in theory, but this turkey should have been edited. We get the point already. To just drag us through it over and over without shortening the process is just plain pretentious. Where was the editor on this? And for what? Smell the roses?????? The assumption here is that the character is rushing because someone is in danger. Him? A loved one? We don't know. And that's okay. But to set that up and then say -- "hey, we all need to slow down sometimes and smell the roses" is just plain bunk (not to mention cliché sentimental crap).

I'm exhausted watching this. And it was only a few minutes long.

PASS. and PASS. and PASS. and PASS. and PASS.

OK, I watched this movie like twice and I started getting pissed off. I thought why does it keep restarting? so I read a comment posted on it and they said click the flower girl. I did, then you get stuck at the flowers so I clicked on the guy again. Seems to be this movie IMO represents day to day life. boring in and out rush rush we do in our society. The man dr awkward seems to be anybody; you me. never stopping to smell the roses and just burning through day to day when you click on the flower girl you smell the roses but It seems you can get caught up in that too. too much enjoying your life not enough work I guess. then finally the guy takes off his watch and ends the cycle. pretty cool movie when you understand it. freaked me out at first, was like a bad nightmare. feel free to email me with your opinions. peace!

There are amateur films, And films that look amateur.

This looked amateur. Discontinuities cluttered the film. And any repeated actions in the film were achieved by playing back old footage. I actually thought I had a bad download. The first probably three minutes of the film is repeated frame for frame a little more than half way through.

Then latter in the ending sequence they keep repeating the exact footage not in flash back but because the director was simply too lazy shoot different actions in different ways. I was thoroughly impressed by how bad this was.

A simple commentary on the life of a typical person in today's world, those who are running through life and not getting anywhere. Most people simply exist in this world, they do not live their lives to the fullest. His life is directed by something as simple and ridiculous as cartoon characters, symbolic of how simple and ridiculous the things that direct most peoples lives today. The homeless man is symbolic of where that gets you in life, which is old, broken down. The new pair of shoes symbolic of material possessions but what does it really mean when your life is over? The rose seller is of course representative of stopping to enjoy the life you are living.

This short freebie movie is terrible. It is meant to induce seizures. Instead of releasing good movies available for instant streaming, Amazon.com is making preachy "original" films that just make me want to vomit. Movies shouldn't be a headache inducing experience. This one in particular is bad because it is an endless cycle of quick edits of a hellish experience. This movie is 100% devoid of entertainment value and is annoying as hell to boot.

If you want the message of the movie it is "life is a hellish cycle of rushing from one appointment to the next so be sure to stop and talk to the crazy homeless people". Maybe Amazon should go back to the drawing board on offering free movies to visitors.

This movie intrigues as a post-modern existential play. The backdrop of human existence is the fast paced, tecno-driven urban encounter of man and technology. The search for meaning is conveyed by the false sense of urgency or danger. Life is depicted as being driven by screens: plasma screens, watch screens, t.v. screens, pda screens. Flash memory configures and guides it all.

The titles "Dr. Awkward" and Do Geese See God each spell the same thing forward and backward, further symbolizing the relentless swing of the pendulum of life.

The "rat" life, as man in a rat cage running is cleverly depicted by the three blind mice, the mouse that is really the "weasel" which pops constantly from the turning of the handle; the quote of Einstein, re-configured to suggests that "time" cannot save, but confuses. It is the nature of humanity immersed in time to be anxious and driven.

The photo of the untied, clean, unused shoes....and the statement of the street person" I am God" must be heard backward: I am "Dog". To society, only dogs lay around and enjoy things.

Under the metaphor of the flower we accept the message, which is not bland, but sends us to search the rest of the movie for hidden clues to how to be still. We are not to be fooled by the taking off of the watch. That is too easy. As the number 181 is the same number forward and backwards, taking off the watch is just the backward action of putting it on again. We do this every morning and every night, which is symbolized by the repetition of finding the CD and starting the sequence all over again.

The meaning of the film is found in the emotion, the rush, the pace, and the incongruent of the screen life with the evergreen that sits quietly at the "real screen" of the window of the city. Dr. Awkward never look out of this screen, to contemplate the world. He rushes from one manufactured screen to another. Like us.

I came across this movie this morning while checking my email. I took today off from work to go to a family member's funeral. And had in my mind all of the things that I had to do before and after the funeral. How ironic that I came across this movie on this particular day. This movie was my "Stop to smell the roses", while I still can.

Blair Underwood is one of my favorite actors. And as always he did a phenomenal job of playing this character. I watched the movie several times and each time I gained a greater understanding for his frustration in trying to reach his goals. Then I finally saw myself in this character.

I know someone is trying to tell me something. And from this day forward I AM listening. Thank you to everyone involved in making this movie (actors, directors, writers, etc.) I GET IT!!

First off let me say that I loved this film. I've watched it at least 4 or 5 times now, and I'll probably end up viewing it again. However, I have a few questions...

I understand the movie itself and underlying themes, but I have a question about the title. I know it is a palindrome (spelled the same way backwards and forwards), as is the character's name, "Dr. Awkward," but is there some other connection or meaning in the title? It doesn't really seem to connect to the film itself, as far as I can tell.

Also, the cartoon character's face is posted EVERYWHERE in the city...billboards, sides of buildings, trucks, poles, etc. I assume that this is trying to show that everyone is looking for "salvation" or inner peace wherever they can find it. Any thoughts?

If anyone has any thoughts I'd love to hear them!

I don't know if others are aware, but there are two versions of this film. I saw the first one streaming, and the second I downloaded from Amazon. In the downloaded version, the film runs through the sequence only about 1 1/2 times before he actually stops and smells the roses, then throws away his watch. I was very confused when I saw this because I think the film already has a surreal psychedelic tone. So I had to go back and watch the first version to see if I was just trippen. I found both versions of the film good, but almost a little too intense to watch. Pehaps that is not a negative from the film-maker's perspective because you do get very involved in the perspective of the "man." I began to feel the anxiety that he felt, however it was almost at an uncomfortable level.

Don't we all need to stop and smell the roses?

This film gave me a headache, but the good kind. You really feel for Dr. Awkward as he's on his quest for God-knows (salvation? Happiness? Inner peace? A nice BLT?) and by the time the movie starts rolling around for the second time, the viewer begins to feel winded as well. I love the interactiveness of it, how you're capable of clicking on the screen, thus choosing the doctor's fate. There's also a sense of responsible in that you're the one giving him a break, cutting into the cycle. All in all, very well done. Enormous applause to David Slade for a stunningly unique idea and presentation.

For all of you users that are confused by the movie, it is interactive. You can click on the movie at the right time and it changes, breaking the loop.

For those of you who got so mad, either at the editing, the product placement, the 'pointless' theme, etc..... Hey, just take off your watch....

I need to add some more text to this post so it will accept this. It is too bad I have to resort to this type of silly workaround to make a simple point about the movie, one which I hope will help others see it a little differently.

There, I hope that is enough to keep the IMDb gods happy....

Scott

When I saw this on Amazon I believed their bit about an alternate ending. However, now I now realize that this movie's point is to slow us down in our daily lives and that the alternate ending is just a witty way to make people to take a break from their schedule. Like the title, which is the same when spelled backwards, this movie is just a play on images. I thought it was done wonderfully, and quite honestly I loved the camera work and the music. The only real fault I had was that the idea that a movie had to repeat itself just to slow us down was rather insulting to me, but I realized it needed to be done and served its purpose.

Another unique idea that I thought was presented very well was just the urgency all of us feel is required in life. By using cartoon characters the film showed how from when we are just a little kid we begin to hurry through life. Dr. Awkward, the main character, represented the American dream with his nice clothes and TV, yet that did not mean he had everything he wanted. That is why Karma is so central to the film, because time well spent is, at least according to the film, maybe fleeting but more essential than most of the time spent in one's life.

This film was about nothing at all and yet everything at the same time. This is why, after viewing this film the austerity of it all lingers with us, much like the scent of a freshly picked rose.

So... Yeah... This is a really hard film to watch all the way through. I paused it once, then played it again and thought it had skipped back to the woman with the roses. But no, it turns out the film repeats that part, amongst others, quite a few times. Is the guy just going crazy or what? I admit, I didn't really pay much attention to the film, because I hate films that keep looping, but it also just wasn't very engrossing. And that guy...who says, "I am god!" That was just too freaky. I can't believe the guy even approached him, I mean, I would run screaming from a guy like that. Wow. Still though, it seems like an interesting film, and I'm sure if you can actually pay attention to it, then you'll find some meanings in there. I couldn't really watch it myself though...

Hmm...

I didn't have a clue what this film was about but the style was amazing. Normally that alone wouldn't be enough for me to rate a movie highly but for some reason I feel compelled to recommend this short on its style alone. It really is quite unique. I particularly loved the sound design - listen to how Underwood's movements are synchronised with the sounds of traffic in some shots. Also, the colour was great - all blues and greens and muted shades. Simple shots seem to have been somewhat re-juvinated and made ten times more interesting, for example when he looks at his watch; or when he picks up the payphone in the station and we get that Homicide-style jump cut/dialogue repetition.

Can't say I get the story in any way whatsoever, even after reading the plot summary, but I'd recommend it just for how it looks and sounds.

Chasing after God is a exercise in futility. Even if you find him, he may end up being a monster just waiting to feast on you. So you are better off coming up with your own image of him as a celebration of his creation. Oh by the way, don't forget to stop and smell the roses and enjoy his creations. Don't become a monster yourself in his image as you miss the point in those cases. Did I get all that seeing the short skit? Everything but the last line! Similar sentiments are echoed in the Bhagavad Gita and is the driving force behind Karma. So hug your wife and kiss your kids goodbye and make the world a happier place! It's so easy and yet we make it so difficult! Drop your attitude in the trash can and smell the roses! Slow down!

For me, that was the message for this "short". Unfortunately, the answer for me is, apparently not.

At least I have a director to add to my list of "Directors I Want To Avoid"

I lasted through two and 1/3 sets of the sequence, and, since there is no obvious clue as to why it repeats, assumed that there was a problem and hit stop.

Based on someone elses comment, I now know there is a payoff for hanging in, but what ever it is, I doubt it is worth it.

Unfortunately for me, unlike Blair Underwood, I don't get the option of going back and getting a second chance to use my time better.