Dust

Dust is one of the finest examples of cinematography I have seen-- and some of the best use of CGI we've come across in recent times. The acting is good, costuming and sets impeccable, the story line although not exceptional, is acceptable in its short context.

I could have easily rated this 10 stars had it held cohesiveness throughout the film-- but for whatever reason the writers / director chose to leave out vital information that would have tied more of the film together. One of the crucial scenes is fully witnessed by the viewer but with no explanation as to what happened, why, to whom or as a result of what. As this moment was intended to tie in heavily to the motivation of the main character, there was far too little information presented in this pivotal scene-- leaving part of the film with "Buckaroo Banzai" syndrome (the director knowing what's going on but finding no need to let anyone else in on it).

This unfortunately created an empty feeling in an essential part of character motivation, leaving the viewer lacking both motivation and identification with the main character and leaving the overall feeling of "not quite done" in the entire film.

Despite this significant flaw the film shows promise that I rarely find in shorts these days-- and earned it a solid 8-star rating. Had the director filled in that tiny gap of information that was necessary to main character development, this could have easily earned a place as best short of the year.

Note: some scenes involving examination of the dead may be a bit intense and graphic for some viewers.