Death to the Tinman

This short is the origin story of the Tinman from Oz (more or less) and it follows the story of Bill, a young man who becomes increasingly disliked by his peers in his small town as his success embitters and embarrasses them for their shortcomings. As he tries to live his life, they take action against him, seeing him change forever.

This is a hard film to describe but, while it is imperfect, it does engage in its oddity and the scale of the story telling. The plot is odd enough in and of itself since it follows the transformation of a normal flesh and bone man into a creature of all tin who does not even have a heart anymore. The manner of delivery makes it work though since the style suits the unusual plot. The black and white shooting style and the way the shots are framed really put me in mind of Guy Maddin and indeed the images and structure to the film does owe a debt to him I think. The pacing and the oddball humor to it did also remind me of Wes Anderson's films and this also helps the material because it keeps it moving and manages to carry the absurdity of it in this coat of seriousness and inventiveness.

It will not be to all tastes and it is inherently odd as a short, but those who like the films from Maddin or Anderson should more than enjoy this film.