Wastelands (2013)
Wastelands (2013)
Synopsis (by writer and director Marco van Bergen - from IMDB):
Lonely teenager Marc (Frederik Stuut) is secretly in love with Olaf (Daniël Brak), the cool boy-next-door. He dreams about a relationship with him, and when the two go camping, this dream seems to become reality for Marc, until he discovers a secret that destroys all his hope.
Review:
Written and directed by Marco van Bergen, who was also behind Water | Vattnet (2012), this Dutch 13-minute short is well worth watching. The calm music and impressive visuals of the landscape draw you right in from the beginning. It starts slowly but you can really feel the loneliness and isolation felt by the main character Marc.
It’s clear from the beginning that Marc has a crush on another boy (through the picture he draws of them together) and that there is a detachment or breakdown in communication between him and his father, like his father knows something is troubling Marc but he doesn’t understand what, and there is an element of frustration there.
We are introduced properly to the other boy, Olaf, at a bus stop and the two boys are then shown camping alone together in the countryside. The cinematography of the landscape here is really stunning and emphasises just how alone these boys are here. In the tent Marc and Olaf are sharing alcohol at night in the dim light, and this is the takeaway scene of this short film for me. There is little dialogue but so much is communicated here through the eye contact and the tension. It’s an intimate scene which well shows that there is a connection between Marc and Olaf and a certain sense of longing as they clearly value each other’s company, and yet there is clear restraint like they’re holding back. More is communicated from the silence than from anything else.
Olaf is clearly the more forward of the two boys, and yet he is the one who is arguably more confused about himself. Marc seems to know what he wants but is uncomfortable in voicing that. The type of tension between Olaf and Marc is so difficult to capture but this scene does a fantastic job – it feels like they’re thinking ‘Is something going to happen? Does he want something to happen? And if so, what do I want to happen?’. In fact, this scene largely reminds me of a similar camping scene in North Sea Texas | Noordzee, Texas (2011), which Wastelands seems in some ways like a shorter version of, as there are a number of similarities.
If I’m honest the rest of the film after the tent scene made less of an impact on me. It’s certainly not bad though, so I would still say it’s worth watching all the way through. The two boys have a disagreement, and while there are some more good shots of the landscape and the bus stop, the rest of the short is nothing overly special or new, but it did keep my attention.
I would definitely recommend this film as it is good value for 13 minutes and is pretty chill, with some really nice visuals and music. The scene in the tent captures a tension that’s difficult to show, so I reckon that’s well worth watching if just for that.
Favourite Quote:
“I’ve got this, crazy boy” - Olaf
Tone: Chill
Score: 7/10
Other Observations:
The whole thing with the green hat is interesting - Olaf giving it to Marc is an intimate gesture, and then at the end Marc keeps it even after Olaf rejects him.
Marc seems to want a relationship with Olaf but doesn’t want to make the first move. Whereas Olaf seems to be keener on just experimenting or having a short-term thing, but he does seem to really care for Marc on some level. Perhaps Marc is a romantic and Olaf is a realist as their relationship would only work when they are alone and isolated from the outside world.
Marc’s coping mechanism just seems to be keeping on storming off…