Omeleto | ANOTHER DEAD SAILOR | Omeleto @Omeleto | Uploaded October 2024 | Updated October 2024, 16 hours ago.
A smoker tests a theory.
ANOTHER DEAD SAILOR is used with permission from Jack Willoughby. Learn more at instagram.com/dontcallmejackwilloughby.
Two friends drink and chat in a pub, getting progressively drunker with each glass. One is a conspiracy theorist, fond of expounding about everything from 9/11 to G-spots. One of his theories is the idea that lighting a cigarette with a candle will kill an innocent sailor at sea.
His companion is more skeptical, and when he tires of his friend's outlandish jawing, he steps out for a cigarette. Forgetting his lighter, he lights his cigarette with one of the pub's candles. When he returns to the pub, the smoker finds himself within a mythical story that has come to life. A sailor now sits at the bar, telling the smoker about the tragic deaths of his comrades -- all dead because of someone lighting their cigarette with a candle. Uncertain of what to believe, the smoker decides to test out the theory -- as well as the line between skepticism and cynicism.
Directed and written by Jack Willoughby, this dark comedy short disguises its sly silliness under the sheen of a portentous, moody visual facade. The dark, brooding visual palette and lighting possess the weight of an eccentric, surreal horror-drama, complete with a portentous musical score and sound design. But the writing is thick with ridiculously baroque detail, showing it has more up its sleeve as it builds up to a central question exploring the line between curiosity, belief and skepticism.
The storytelling has the feel of a classic yarn, one where the narrative ambles and grooves to its own odd and eccentric rhythms. Essentially two conversations, the writing circles and embellishes until it comes in for a landing, slowly winding up to a suspenseful question. The smoker has listened to his friend yammering about various conspiracy theories. Though he hasn't responded much, viewers get the sense that he doesn't think any of them are true.
But when he returns to the pub and finds himself in the middle of an old wives' tale come to life, he's forced to question his skepticism. The film's craft pulls out the stops in this section, ramping up the atmospherics and luxuriating in its writing, especially as the sailor -- played by actor Geoff Bell with great relish -- recounts the deaths of his fallen comrades, all of whom perished because of someone lighting a cigarette with a candle. He wants the smoker to stop doing it and pay more attention to the consequences of his actions.
The smoker himself is drawn in by the vivid character and atmosphere, and actor Ben Tavassoli portrays a wondering curiosity creeping into his cynical, drink-fueled stupor. It's enough to make him wonder if the sailor's seemingly strange tale is true, though it rubs up against his natural skepticism. The final moments of ANOTHER DEAD SAILOR are his efforts to test out the veracity of the sailor's assertions, and needless to say, things go slightly amok: the final punchline to a winding, alcohol-tinged and mischievous yarn of a short.
A smoker tests a theory.
ANOTHER DEAD SAILOR is used with permission from Jack Willoughby. Learn more at instagram.com/dontcallmejackwilloughby.
Two friends drink and chat in a pub, getting progressively drunker with each glass. One is a conspiracy theorist, fond of expounding about everything from 9/11 to G-spots. One of his theories is the idea that lighting a cigarette with a candle will kill an innocent sailor at sea.
His companion is more skeptical, and when he tires of his friend's outlandish jawing, he steps out for a cigarette. Forgetting his lighter, he lights his cigarette with one of the pub's candles. When he returns to the pub, the smoker finds himself within a mythical story that has come to life. A sailor now sits at the bar, telling the smoker about the tragic deaths of his comrades -- all dead because of someone lighting their cigarette with a candle. Uncertain of what to believe, the smoker decides to test out the theory -- as well as the line between skepticism and cynicism.
Directed and written by Jack Willoughby, this dark comedy short disguises its sly silliness under the sheen of a portentous, moody visual facade. The dark, brooding visual palette and lighting possess the weight of an eccentric, surreal horror-drama, complete with a portentous musical score and sound design. But the writing is thick with ridiculously baroque detail, showing it has more up its sleeve as it builds up to a central question exploring the line between curiosity, belief and skepticism.
The storytelling has the feel of a classic yarn, one where the narrative ambles and grooves to its own odd and eccentric rhythms. Essentially two conversations, the writing circles and embellishes until it comes in for a landing, slowly winding up to a suspenseful question. The smoker has listened to his friend yammering about various conspiracy theories. Though he hasn't responded much, viewers get the sense that he doesn't think any of them are true.
But when he returns to the pub and finds himself in the middle of an old wives' tale come to life, he's forced to question his skepticism. The film's craft pulls out the stops in this section, ramping up the atmospherics and luxuriating in its writing, especially as the sailor -- played by actor Geoff Bell with great relish -- recounts the deaths of his fallen comrades, all of whom perished because of someone lighting a cigarette with a candle. He wants the smoker to stop doing it and pay more attention to the consequences of his actions.
The smoker himself is drawn in by the vivid character and atmosphere, and actor Ben Tavassoli portrays a wondering curiosity creeping into his cynical, drink-fueled stupor. It's enough to make him wonder if the sailor's seemingly strange tale is true, though it rubs up against his natural skepticism. The final moments of ANOTHER DEAD SAILOR are his efforts to test out the veracity of the sailor's assertions, and needless to say, things go slightly amok: the final punchline to a winding, alcohol-tinged and mischievous yarn of a short.
