The Days God Slept (Short)
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I began watching the short film, “The Days God Slept”– in all honesty, I tend to avoid reading descriptions of the films I’m asked to review; I find the surprise of watching them more intriguing that way. However, one look at the title, and you know to probably expect something along the lines of a spiritual experience, and while that’s true of this film to a point, it’s not a spiritual film in the ways one might expect, and that’s a good thing.
The film, in fact, is something of a neo noir that focuses in on a man and a woman. There is a deep, spiritual connection between them, one that brings them together. She is an exotic dancer, who has a confession of sorts to make about one night, when she invited a client home, along with his friends. The man, we don’t know much about, only that he is wearing glasses when he typically doesn’t, and he seems to represent, in a way, salvation for the dancer. The question is, “Is she ready for that?”
I’ll allow the film to answer that question for you, and I’ll close by saying that many people may finish the film’s 10 minutes with more questions than answers. Sometimes, that’s a good thing, although here, I’m not so sure. What is a very good thing in this film is the overall sense of style and tone, coming from the dramatic imagery; the contemplative dialogue; and a score by Harry Manfredini (of “Friday the 13th” fame) that draws us into this short film’s elliptical, haunting world. That alone makes this film worth watching, whether we feel like we’ve figured it out by the end or not.
