User Reviews

DESIRE is an odd little short film and I liked it because of its subtlety--it makes you think.

A grouchy husband and his wife are going on a walk to view some obelisk in the city. A couple sailors come up to them and ask directions to the obelisk but the grouchy guy tells them he doesn't know either. They decide to all walk there together, though after a bit the wife lingers behind with one of the sailors. They end up disappearing and have sex after which time they return to find the husband and the other sailor waiting. Both groups tell the other they DID go see this obelisk but couldn't understand how they missed each other. In the end, you are left wondering who had the better time that day--the husband or the wife.

As I said above, this is a pretty subtle film and it has an interesting twist at the end. I recommend the film because it is very clever and tells a story in a very unconventional manner.

Although set in the United States of the 50's or 60's, "Desire" was in fact filmed in the year 2000. Yet amazingly, the dialogue, cinematography (or possibly the editing), costume and overall feel of the film actually appear to be made in that era. The performers do not give cliché accents and/or period characterizations, so they come off as genuine. The implication here of course is that whatever the wife and sailor were up to must have occurred with the husband and other sailor, since they gave equally evasive excuses. However, thinking through it, the husband and the other sailor could have simply had a long talk. But what does become clear is that honesty is not an important factor in their marriage, which raises the question of how much else they have been hiding from each other. Very well written, acted and filmed.