The Swan (2023) Short Movie Review

 

The Swan | 2023 | 17m
Genre: Comedy/Drama/Short | Country: US
Director: Wes Anderson | Writers: Roald Dahl, Wes Anderson
Cast: Rupert Friend, Ralph Fiennes, Asa Jennings
IMDB: 6.7
My Rate: 9/10

Peter experiences bullying from Ernie and his friend, where Peter cannot do anything because of Ernie’s threat with a gun. The gun Ernie received as a birthday present ends up ruining someone else’s life.

Warning:

Scenes of violence

 

Synopsis:

Ernie receives a gun as a birthday present. Together with his friend, Ernie wants to use it to shoot birds. At that moment, they see Peter, who is birdwatching.

Evil intentions arise in their minds as they tie Peter up and place him on the train tracks. Peter manages to survive, but the bullying continues. They kill a swan and cut off its wings. Then, they tie the wings to Peter’s arms.

Peter cannot escape until Ernie orders Peter to climb a tree, where Ernie is ready to shoot him.
Will Peter be saved?

 

Review:

The Swan is the second short film in the short film anthology after The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023), which is adapted from a short story by Roald Dahl. The story idea presented is quite touching and profound, telling the story of a boy who experiences bullying but is never truly afraid of his bullies.

As with the previous film, the story in this film is also delivered with a narrator as the storyteller. The narrator in this film plays quite a big role because he is the adult version of the character being told, so through his storytelling, it feels like he is opening old wounds that he has kept.

The visualization of the scenes, especially the bullying scenes, is presented more implicitly. This allows the audience to enter their own imagination, making them feel as if they are in the main character's perspective. However, some viewers may not appreciate this method. Surely, when watching a film, they expect visualization that is created and interpreted by the director, not to be asked to imagine the scenes themselves.

The settings are also not as many as in the first film. However, the camera work and symmetrical layout make the setting not too boring. The variety of camera techniques also makes the story more interesting.

The story is built on a fairly strong foundation. Each important character and their background are explained quite clearly — such as how the bully gets the gun, the meeting with Peter, who Peter is, and other important components that bring them into conflict.

The conflict begins with several small conflicts, starting when they meet Peter and begin to bully him. It starts with tying Peter to the train tracks, killing the swan and putting its wings on Peter, and finally leads to the major conflict — shooting Peter from a distance. All of it is presented systematically with escalating tension.

The story ends very beautifully and with a heart-wrenching scene — especially the dialogue spoken by Peter’s mother. Somehow, it feels so piercing and relatable to the feelings of parents whose children become victims of bullying. Unfortunately, there is no clarity regarding the fate of the bullies.

The acting of the cast is very good, even with the limited expressions they show. However, the narrator's intonation brings the story to life. The choice of music and sound effects are also fitting and build the atmosphere very well.

This film is suitable for filmmakers who enjoy artistic-style films that focus on narrative rather than visuals.

 

Memorable Scene:

Peter is ordered to retrieve the corpse of the swan that was killed by the bullies. At that moment, the bullies ask about the whereabouts of the swan’s egg. Peter chooses to lie and hide the egg’s location.

In this scene, we can see that Peter’s decision is made to protect the egg, even though he knows the risks he may face. However, Peter chooses to sacrifice himself to the bullies rather than hand over the innocent egg. Perhaps some of us have made a similar decision in our lives. That decision is not wrong as long as it has a good purpose.

 

Memorable Dialogue:

“Nothing, neither pain nor torture nor threat of death, will cause them to give up.”

 

Ending:

Sad Ending

 

Recommendation:

Must Watch

(Aluna)