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We’re all going
to get old and die, and some of us may not even see old age. But for
those of us who sit up at nights wondering what being elderly will
entail and how coming to terms with old age would be like, Dan Masucci
confronts the topic quite well with “Against the Wind,” a dramatic short
about an old man looking back at his life. “Against the Wind” was
especially gripping for me, as Masucci manages to touch on actual fears
people in my position have had.
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What will it
be like? Will we lose our minds? Will we become senile? Will
our deaths be painful? Will we die peacefully in our sleep?
Will we be forgotten? “Against the Wind” confronts many
inevitabilities that we eventually face and properly does so
in a graceful method that makes aging into a beautiful and
rather poetic evolution that will bring us into a deeper
state of mind rather than just signaling our impending fates
at the hands of grim death. |
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Actor Michael F. Hates gives a touching portrait of a man whose seen
many woes and hardships in his life, but looks back with a sense of
accomplishment however minimal we may perceive the accomplishments
to be. Masucci brings to the center a sensitive but rather thought
provoking topic that keeps “Against the Wind” a constant treat.
The problem with
“Against the Wind” that ensured me not completely going nuts for it is
that Masucci’s film tend to be reliant on an overkill of sap and
sentimentalism that keeps it from ever feeling like a genuine emotional
effort, as it often watched like Masucci was trying desperately to gauge
a tear from us. The sap and sentiment are so heavy in fact, that for the
first two minutes it feels like we’re watching a commercial to life
insurance. It never truly felt like a movie until it reached its final
act.
Admittedly,
Masucci’s film can come on too strong with the first two minutes feeling
an awful lot like a commercial, but “Against the Wind” explores enough
interesting themes for me to forgive its evident flaws, in the end. That
and the strong performances make it a worthy short film.
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