By Serena Wooten
The Island is a short film written and directed by Mahmut Taş, depicting the heartbreaking reality of a village struck by drought. While many films have sought to cover similar topics about areas ravaged by climate change and natural disasters, this film accomplishes in three minutes what others may fail to do in two hours. This success stems from a critical choice made by director Taş—telling the story from a young girl’s perspective and filming it in a found-footage style.
This directing technique creates an immersive experience so that we are not merely outsiders looking into someone else’s life—we experience everything with them. When this is done through the eyes of a child sharing her memories of a once-beautiful home, now dry and barren, which she and her family must leave behind, we feel her sense of loss and hopelessness firsthand.
The Island is a reminder that many villages ravaged by extreme climate conditions have gone without help for too long and should not be forgotten. Overall, this was a great film, but it will surely cause you to shed a tear or two.
I give The Island 5 out of 5 stars.
Serena Wooten is an Msc Psychology graduate with a passion for travel, books, and films. She is currently pursuing a career in PR and Communications, and hopes to find her way and make an impact in the world of media and film. Her favorite thing to do is to go to the movies on the weekends or catch the latest MARVEL release on opening night . . . and yes, she does psychologically analyze every character storyline in every film she watches.
Recent Comments