Life-long neighbors Alex and Jenna turn an otherwise ordinary childhood into a life of fantastical journeys with their imaginations. Toy blocks and castles give way to first cars and street ships as the two learn the bigger they allow themselves to dream, the better they cope with whatever life brings.
I can’t say there have been many shorts that I have seen, much less enjoyed. Every year they are nominated and I always wonder who’s seeing them. I know the necessity of some shorts to convey the bigger picture of a feature or series when pitching to producers. Other times I know some filmmakers have a message they want to get out succinctly. “Street Ships” actually made me even more “short-phobic” (if that’s even possible).
From the opening scene, I was immediately blasted in the face by its over-the-top swelling score. It’s like if Aaron Copeland and John Williams had their brass sections consume all the cocaine in Bolivia and then hit record. This is mainly a wordless short focused on two neighbors and how their imagination magically transports them to a fantasy world. For example, swinging on the monkey bars transitions into two children swinging on vines in the jungle. As they grow older so does the childish cult they’ve amassed through brainwashing and recruiting.
I was groaning and sighing at such a ridiculous screenplay. One scene, in particular, had the two leads frantically racing down a busy suburban road, maniacally laughing while they endangered innocent lives. The footage felt like a montage of some pharmaceutical marketing campaign that was left over in the editing room from 2003. I love being inspired and wowed but “Street Ships” did the opposite, and now I just want to pretend it was all a fantasy.
“Street Ships” recently premiered at the 2019 Dances With Films Film Festival
