"Brunnen" by Soullen Ten

[Maximus]

Very well done. I enjoyed the originality of you story and not knowing where it was going. Nudity is always a sensitive issue, particularly in a short film where it can come across as gratuitous. In your film, it obviously wasn't, it was integral to your story.

The issue then becomes how to film the nudity, how much to show.

When a director tries to find creative ways to hide the "naughty bits" it inadvertently becomes either a "peak-a-boo" strip tease or a comedy (Naked Autin Powers walking around the hotel lobby).

Your actress appeared to very comfortable undressing in front of the camera, but the filmmaker seemed very uncomfortable showing it. This self-consciousness hurt the film somewhat. The nudity would have been better treated matter of factly, as the theme of this film seems to suggest.

The ending would have been much better if we saw her fully nude walking away from camera into the sunset, even in a LONG SHOT. I don't think a brief shot of a small distant bum would arouse or offend most people.

Look forward to your next film.

[arroway]

When a director tries to find creative ways to hide the "naughty bits" it inadvertently becomes either a "peak-a-boo" strip tease or a comedy (Naked Autin Powers walking around the hotel lobby).

I agree with this and was actually reminded of that scene in Austin Powers as well.

I almost made the comment that "the editing here would make Austin Powers proud" but didn't think anyone would get it...

[alex whitmer]

Love this film. The sin-dialogue really polished it. I think the nudity was handled well by Actress, DOP and Director. Nothing about it read sexual. If I got the metaphor right, it's about shedding one's identity, and with it security (??) That's the false wealth we dress ourselves in. Am I reading too much into it?

For me, it was more a reverse Faust. Nothing I saw was making a deal with the devil. Maybe more of an exorcism, a chance to fix past wrongs. But then, we don't know how she got the gold.

Everything worked for me. Maybe a few too many 'running-the-fingers-through-the hair' moments, and not sure why she tossed the hat so soon. Out there, it would be essential - especially with black hair.

Loved the props. Well done film. It makes one think, and will let the audience arrive at different interpretations.

a

[dominic.lopez]

A gorgeous, naked Asian girl? Got my vote.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Beautiful score in this one. Very powerful. Same goes for the actress. The look on her face near the end when she smiled after refreshing herself looked genuine. Tossing the hat and such was an odd choice but then she did leave naked after all. Better break out the sunblock.

Nicely done. Beautifully shot.

MAH

[Curugon]

Extremely unique and beautifully simple. I didn't need any more story that what was here, although I think a minute could've easily been cut out to improve the pace. The scenery and production design was nicely done. The actress was by far the strongest part, and emoted quite a lot just through her expressions and actions. I liked the plot device of the well, and the conclusion was perfect. A very high score here.

[Chris_Keaton]

Why'd she disrobe entirely. The sun will kill her in the desert as fast as lack of water. Ah, who am I to nitpick. Nice Film!

[Brian Parker]

Really enjoyed this one. It had great cinematography throughout but the shots from her getting the water through the end of the film really shone. My minor issues echo everybody elses in that I didn't feel like she was really dehydrating. Silent film was a nice touch. Very good film!

[soullenten]

Love this film. The sin-dialogue really polished it. I think the nudity was handled well by Actress, DOP and Director. Nothing about it read sexual. If I got the metaphor right, it's about shedding one's identity, and with it security (??) That's the false wealth we dress ourselves in. Am I reading too much into it?

Thanks Alex!

Originally I had planned the ending to have the tone of a heist / "thief beating the system", but when it came to the performance and pouring the water at magic hour, the theme of redemption came through strong so we didn't fight it and went with appropriate music and tone in the edit.

[soullenten]

Why'd she disrobe entirely. The sun will kill her in the desert as fast as lack of water. Ah, who am I to nitpick. Nice Film!

The idea was that the sun was going down (magic hour), but she'd had been through the whole day so she still needed water, so once the pump worked she could make it to a town traveling at night.

Probably could have shot a bit more of the sun setting to sell that point.

Thanks for the comments.