Hawk

This short stands out amongst Capture's short films as a more ambitious cinematic endeavour, which leaves the real world far behind. Hawk succeeds in seeming to be much higher in production value than it probably is - clever use of drone shots and VFX to create a hawk's eye view of the craggy landscape give the film an epic scale from start to finish. Indeed the way DoP Martin Hill shoots the landscape is shot is a key strength of the film. It is packed with static shots that frame the cliffs and sky very nicely - and the use of the sky different times of day (including some beautiful magic-hour twilight scenes) keeps the lighting varied and interesting. Production Design is also another element that adds value to and richness to the world of Hawk. The shelters, tea boiling bags, drinking horns, leathered and feathered costumes. These work especially well because Rowan and his father would have had to make these by hand which Production Designer Emma Lo Gatto and her team probably did. All of this brings texture and detail to this story and grounds the characters within it by showing us the instruments and tools with which they live day-to-day The story itself is a real journey - from coming of age survival lessons and camp-fire stories with Rowan's kindly, wizened father, to psilocybin-induced nightmarish visions of Celtic demon-gods, and finally to a poignant moment of self-sacrifice. Despite the relatively small cast, the narrative spans many years and many worlds. What's particularly good is that the story is given space to breathe, and the dialogue does not shoulder the entire burden of exposition - meaning we have to fill in the gaps ourselves. All of these elements combine to make Hawk more than the sum of its parts - a short film that feels more expensive and epic, and has the legs to be adapted into a feature.

Hawk has many aspects that are powerful, and more that have potential to be powerful, but my feeling towards the content was predominantly confusion. Although it featured some beautiful landscape and a wonderfully soaring score, the film didn't quite seem to do justice to the wonderful idea at its heart. It felt like it should be a lyrical tale of folklore, a mystical underworld land and one boy's journey into understanding the spiritual worlds of nature and beyond human kind, but didn't quite seem to make it.

The tale is told so much in voice-over from the protagonist Rowan, and there are choppy time jumps so often that it loses the linear narrative and breaks up the genuinely touching relationship between a boy – Rowan - and his grandfather. The way the mystical world is portrayed is tense and at times effectively scary, shown in flashes as the character sees it. This is well done, but I wasn't entirely sure why they'd left the world of humans in the first place and as a result of not knowing what was at stake or their reasons for leaving, I didn't care as much about them as I wanted to.

The way to access this world appears to be through drinking magic mushroom tea. Although at first I was sceptical of an old man getting high while looking after his grandson, it became clear that this was a gateway to a more meaningful world. The dialogue is mostly good, but at times teeters rather too close to the edge of being trite and there were some things I'd prefer to have seen happening rather than been told.

The film really came together at the end, where all is revealed quite beautifully and I really felt for Rowan. The point becomes clear through the moral message and the strongest part of this film is the last ten minutes where the pace picked up, I understood the situation Rowan had found himself in and could empathise with it, and it felt like for the first time, there really was something at stake.

Although I feel that the film was let down slightly by the script and the choice to have a narrator, the idea behind this film is very strong, the images are powerful, the music is wonderful and the end is moving. Hawk is definitely worth watching.

The performance of Robert Gwyn Davin in the final stages of 'Hawk' is powerful and yet not quite supported strongly enough by the rest of the film. I care, but I feel I could care more.

The location and the cinematography ensure that the film is consistently visually stunning; creating a sense of otherworldliness that provides a powerful foundation for the action. This combined with the excellent score and the characters' mellifluous Welsh accents, works to provide the entire piece with a strong ethereal quality.

For me, other than the extraordinary aesthetic of the film, its other greatest triumph is the animals. Generally when animals are not just on screen but actually directly contribute to the narrative, it can feel very forced. Instead of it making things feel more real, all I begin to imagine is the animal's handler jumping up and down behind the camera whilst trying to reassure the director that Rover can indeed portray grief. Essentially animals often hinder films by making the audience feel more conscious of the work that is going into telling the story rather than the story itself, and at this point all illusion is lost. However, In this film the hawks are obviously key to the narrative, but actually do much more than simply allow the plot progress. Every movement of each animal and particularly the hawks feels natural, and this provides an integral link between reality and fantasy.

Paradoxically it's often when the audience is unconscious of the filmmaker's touch that they are doing their best work. What is remarkable about 'Hawk' is the delicate way in special effects and shot choice have been deeply thought about and brilliantly implemented, making the natural landscape infinitely more vivid and full of possibility. Just as with the inclusion of the different animals everything feels cohesive and natural but at the same time wonderfully enchanted.

In regards to the story my overriding sense is that what is being told is simply too grand for the 39 minutes it is allowed. Certain shots feel rushed which makes it seem as though the plot progression is too quick to properly do the story justice. It battles with other elements of the film that are particularly strong and simply cannot compete. However this is all that is lost in a film that is visually stunning as well as engaging.

'Hawk', a surprisingly dark tale ultimately about survival, sacrifice and loss is a very enjoyable piece of film. Reminiscent of a Tolkien world, the North Wales portrayed in the feature seems like an entirely different plane of existence, allowing the audience to get lost in a fantastical new world. The stunning backdrop accompanied by the great score are two key factors as to why this film is a joy to watch.

The narrative, for the most part, is quite captivating. Gawain mentors young Rowan, where he is also mentoring the audience, truly drawing us in and immersing us, whilst giving us all the information we need to know about this land. Fastforwarding to the end sequence, the build up and the payoff is extremely tense and very exciting to watch.

However, there was one transition that slightly hindered the film somewhat, which is the change from young Rowan to old.

A great deal of the film is dedicated to Gawain mentoring young Rowan, time in which we get to know these protagonists fairly well. In transition, the now adult Rowan, seems to retain little if any of his previous characteristics, thus feeling more like a new character, a stranger. The payoff, whilst powerful, would have been a greater spectacle if we knew this character more or saw something recognisable within him.

That being said, to reiterate, the end sequence makes for some real compelling viewing either way. The Adult Rowan made a great hero - It was a shame we couldn't see more of Rowan as the master hunter/survivalist he had become, but always leave 'em wanting more is the phrase that comes to mind.

'Hawk' is a visually stunning piece of film and a pleasure to watch.

7.5/10

This is the tale of a boy living in the wilderness with his grandfather, and learning the ways of nomad life. He follows his grandfather's teachings, and fervently believes in traditional stories of spirits, until one day the boy finds his grandfather dead in the forest. The boy seeks solace in a potion of magic mushrooms and becomes entranced. In a daze of hallucinations he panics and commits an ungodly act, upturning the natural balance of nature. He is now forever in the debt of an eerie God. Or is he?

This unusual tale lies on the boundary between reality and the sublime. Stunning cinematography, seamless visual effects and colourist skills, help to bring out the emotion and create atmosphere in the film with the aid of an intense and powerful choral soundtrack.

Parts of this film felt a little rushed or unclear, which is a shame, because it could easily be a really fantastic piece. I feel that more work could have been done to develop the characters and clarify the storyline, which left me a little confused in places. The acting skills also tended to be a little over the top, in contrast to the beautiful realism of the visual effects.

Overall, I feel the technical skill displayed in the film made up for its flaws, and meant I could enjoy the piece based on its creativity.