One of my favorite categories of films is the "Shorts" category. Yeah, yeah, I know. It's my attentional difficulties. Anyway, it's amazing to me what can be conveyed in just 15 minutes. Perhaps that's one of the MANY reasons I don't watch tv. It just doesn't give me enough in the specified time period. This was not the case with "Josephine and the Roach." This 15 minute short was visually enticing and beautiful. The story, which is extremely unique, captured my heart.
Josephine was a woman in a very stifling marriage living in an antiquated 1960's feeling grungy apartment in NYC. For those of you who have lived in cities, you know that roaches are an eminent co-inhabitant. In Josephine's apartment lived a very special roach. A roach that loved music and could play the violin. Josephine's only love and happiness came from playing the accordion. It was through their love of music that enabled another type of love to blossom. But how could a roach and a human possibly work? The roach devised a plan.
This brilliantly colorful and visually captivating film told a love story with not a word spoken. I actually had to watch the film twice to make sure that that was accurate. In my mind, I heard dialogue, but there was none. The power of music paired with gorgeous cinematography that felt at times like a cartoon, empowered the viewer to not need words. The only words that were spoken were from an old-time tv commercial. This technique worked.
My heart ached for Josephine's isolation and abuse from her lazy, beer-drinking slug of a husband. The computer graphics of the roach made me root for the roach! The music enveloped me to help me feel all the emotions that each of the characters felt. How could I possibly be pulled in to a film about a roach and a lonely woman falling in love? It was easy!
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