Snowy: A short film

 

        To begin, the first film we watch is a short film published by TIME Studios and documented by Kaitlyn Schwalje and Alex Wolf Luis, and what a film it was. With the short film being only 12 minutes long and just about a pet turtle I was not expecting much out of it. However I quickly changed my assumptions on the film.

           First, in terms of storytelling I really enjoyed how the beginning it goes from quite a sad story where the family talks about Snowy just living in the corner of the basement, no one gives him attention, there was times they thought he was dead, and no on really cared to take care of him besides the dad. However by the end of the film the mood completely changes, Snowy is given a new tank, he is given walks outside in the grass with fresh air to breathe, and taken to the doctor to get check up on. My favorite scene in the film is Snowy walking in grass for the first time, this scene was beautiful scene and is the climax of the story. You really feel that Snowy has reached the peak of his happiness in what has been a very gloomy life so far. The close up makes him seem like a giant that has conquered his world. I believe that the hero of the story were the filmmakers, the filmmakers were the ones who brought attention to Snowy, who questioned how the family treated Snowy, and ultimately is who gave the family the call to action to improve the turtle's life. If it wasn't for the filmmakers the family would be treating the turtles the same.

        Secondly, in terms of the cinematography it was very well done. I enjoyed the different types of shots such as closeups, slow-motion, the movement of the camera, and the final drone shot. My 2 favorite shots in the film was the thanksgiving shot where the camera is outside of the window and it slowly pans from the family enjoying Thanksgiving and then towards the dark basement where Snowy is all alone which is quite sad. My other favorite scene I already mentioned before and it was the turtle in the grass scene, I love the close up, I feel like it just captures the happy emotion and curiosity that is coming from the turtle as he begins to  explore his new world. The closeup adds a more personal feeling to the film as if we were with Snowy in that moment. Finally, the drone shot was cool but ultimately I do not believe it added anything to the story. If you were to take the drone shot out the film the story would remain the same.

Finally, in terms of cultural relevance I believe that we should care about this film, this film is more than just about the life of a turtle, it shows us the pursuit of happiness. What we should take from this film is that we should enjoy life and do whatever big or small steps necessary to make us happy rather than remain with that feeling of just "being there". Lastly Snowy was able to make me care about this family and its pet through the transition of showing how miserable the turtle's life was, and it keeps you enjoying the film as you are watching it in support of Snowy hoping that he lives a higher quality life.