ALCHEMY - Review

ALCHEMY

Director : Brandon Polanco

Writer : Ian Kevin Scott

Producers : Ian Kevin Scott, Brandon Polanco

Starring : Ian Kevin Scott, Angela Pietropinto

Runtime : 14 minutes

Genre : Experimental, Fantasy, 

Science-Fiction, Thriller

16:9 - Color 

Language : English

Country : USA

2015

© Brandon Polanco / Ian Kevin Scott

Brandon's Alchemy is a sensory closed-door short film.

The technical prowess of the camera is surprising. The alternation of long shots, close-ups and tracking shots create an original visual work in which the viewer never knows what to expect.

The colors are impactful and take us to another dimension.

The soundscape is mesmerizing and remarkable. It gives an additional interest to the subject and sublimates these images worked like real photographs. Raw light and neon are there. Visually and aesthetically, the film is reminiscent of the works of Nicolas Winding Refn or Gaspar Noe. We could also mention David Lynch for the general atmosphere of the film, between dream and reality.

© Brandon Polanco / Ian Kevin Scott

The main character (Ian Kevin Scott) is immediately endearing, right from the foreground.

There is something naive and innocent about it. We identify with his person but also with the situation he is experiencing: passing an exam. We have all found ourselves in a small room to take a complex test. Moreover, the character's madness and his progressive loss of control seem to be linked to this test which disturbs him. Real anxiety attack of the protagonist?Incredible situation in which the examiner acts like a barbarian towards him? The answer remains subjective. However, the last sequence and the character's transformation into Santa Claus reinforces the idea of ​​the pure innocence of his spirit, and the potential subject of the examination.

© Brandon Polanco / Ian Kevin Scott

The minimalist side of the film makes it all its originality. Thus, making an experimental thriller with a single actor in an almost infernal closed-door environment is an intelligent concept because it touches the viewer on different levels (content and form). This film gives hope in terms of cinematographic renewal, and visual and sound quality with a limited budget. It is radically opposed to modern Hollywood projects. Here, Brandon Polanco creates a very personal atmosphere and does not make any real compromises. The result is more than convincing.

By Hallucinea Film Festival