Directed by Alex Ferrari
Review by David Carter


Released by The Enigma Factory
Running Time: 19 minutes
Rating: NR
Color format: Color
Audio/Subtitles: 5.1 Dolby Digital Stereo English
Region Code: 1, NTSC
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen
16:9 Enhanced: No
Special Features: Over 3 hours of behind-the-scenes footage from Pre-Production, Production, Post-Production, 6 commentary tracks
Trailer Online: Yes

Regardless of how talented a director one might be, it’s nearly impossible to convince a studio to finance a project without having something to show them. To get something on film they can show backers, many neophyte directors are eschewing slogging away in commercials or television for a format more representative of their talents: the short film. A good short film can not only show your talents to potential investors and studios, but it can also garner the public’s attention. Many film festivals now have events specifically for shorts and with new techniques like web distribution, a director can make a name for themselves without a full-length feature under their belt. Alex Ferrari’s short BROKEN has been getting a good deal of positive attention both on the festival circuit and through word of mouth.

Bonnie wakes up suddenly from a bad dream. She drowsily walks to the kitchen when she’s startled by a noise behind her. She thinks it’s her boyfriend, but when the shadowed man speaks she immediately knows she’s in danger. She’s blindsided by a powerful looking woman, and the next thing she knows, she’s bound, gagged, and in an industrial looking room. The man who was in her house, Duncan, is a harmonica-playing megalomaniac, who rants and raves about things that Bonnie doesn’t understand. Duncan and his imposing crew seem to know far more about Bonnie than she does them, and she quickly begins to realize that she’s now a part of something much larger than she originally thought.

BROKEN has an odd, dreamlike quality, however, not in the traditional sense that descriptor is used when referring to cinema. The film is not ethereal, like most “dreamlike” films, but instead is very disarmingly sudden and enigmatic, the way actual dreams often are. The audience is just as in the dark about what’s going on as Bonnie is, so her surprise and fear mimics our own. Very clearly, there is far more going on regarding the situation, and even Bonnie, than we are aware of. The film does an excellent job of making the story seem more vast than it actually is. In a short nineteen minutes, BROKEN packs in more depth than many full-length indie features.

BROKEN is available for purchase through The Enigma Factory’s website. As mentioned, the film itself is brief, but they’ve made the DVD worth purchasing by including over three hours of supplemental materials. The features are practically a step-by-step guide to making a short film. Every aspect of the shoot is shown, from the casting calls to the editing. It may seem like a bit of hubris on the filmmaker’s part by including three hours of bonus materials for a nineteen minute film, but each feature is interesting and worth watching even separate from the film.

BROKEN is a very promising first effort from director/writer Alex Ferrari. He’s currently working on a feature-length BROKEN, and if it retains the same style as the short it will definitely be worth checking out. Many viewers are reluctant to buy short films on DVD, but The Enigma Factory has gone above and beyond in making this purchase worthwhile. The shorts about filmmaking are a must see for any aspiring indie filmmakers.