I found this rather engrossing, something I rarely experience with short films. Perhaps because it was part of a four short piece on Prime that I assumed were connected, so I was trying to connect them. Nope, haha.
I do like it, and have watched it several times. It feels far shorter than even its short running time, and like the other reviewer said, there might be too much packed in here.
Or maybe not. If the idea is to make you feel perhaps a bit of what it's like to be in a mental asylum, well, I can't really say but it certainly creates a strong feeling of unease, uncertainty, unreality.
Given all that happens-- or seems to happen-, I certainly don't believe Jonah is a reliable narrator. The most obvious reason is he's clearly hallucinating. But he's also really the only person in his world. The adults in his world exist barely more than those in a Peanuts cartoon and Richard is only barely mentally present.
Also it seems highly unlikely Jonah would be discharged and return to school in his condition.
Watching it again right now, it seems most likely that Jonah is insane and probably Richard doesn't exist at all. And several times, Richard seems to "appear" out of the blue to Jonah.
And I've probably watched it a couple dozen times now, and it always feels like it's five minutes long, but it's well over twenty minutes long. Best short I've ever seen.
I do like it, and have watched it several times. It feels far shorter than even its short running time, and like the other reviewer said, there might be too much packed in here.
Or maybe not. If the idea is to make you feel perhaps a bit of what it's like to be in a mental asylum, well, I can't really say but it certainly creates a strong feeling of unease, uncertainty, unreality.
Given all that happens-- or seems to happen-, I certainly don't believe Jonah is a reliable narrator. The most obvious reason is he's clearly hallucinating. But he's also really the only person in his world. The adults in his world exist barely more than those in a Peanuts cartoon and Richard is only barely mentally present.
Also it seems highly unlikely Jonah would be discharged and return to school in his condition.
Watching it again right now, it seems most likely that Jonah is insane and probably Richard doesn't exist at all. And several times, Richard seems to "appear" out of the blue to Jonah.
And I've probably watched it a couple dozen times now, and it always feels like it's five minutes long, but it's well over twenty minutes long. Best short I've ever seen.