Rowan Bettjeman plays Baelin the Fisherman: a character in a video game who is programmed to say only one sentence. Baelin seems to be locked in a path, destined to forever walk his route around the fictional land of Azerim, until he is forced to overcome his designated programming in order to save a teenage girl from an angry adventurer.
Bettjeman gives a wonderful performance as we see Baelin struggling against to break free of his programming when he is confronted with a cruel adventurer, played by Ben van Lier. Even though Bettjeman only has one sentence, he portrays a plethora of emotions when repeating it in different settings. Hodor and Groot: take notes.
Van Lier embodies the rage gamers feel when they struggle with new quests in video games, with such realism that we can relate to, and yet hate, his experience.
The co-star of the film, Phoenix Cross, is perhaps the perfect choice to play the young damsel in distress: Willow. She draws the audience in with her brilliant acting and expressions, giving us the desire to protect her at all costs.
With a minimal budget, raised through Kickstarter, the directors Adam King and Alan Morrison have managed to bring a top notch Hollywood feel to a 35 minute film: The epic scenery of New Zealand, the excellent music score, the gamer names above other players' names and lots of details makes this unique movie an absolute must-see for most audiences.
And, unlike a lot of large Hollywood productions, this brilliant movie is available free for everyone on YouTube.
