THE MASS OF MEN

 

The Mass of Men is a short film directed by Gabriel Gauchet and it is very good, it will always stick in my mind as it is a a shocking film. It highlights the desperation of so many people, the characters are just microcosms of a larger problem. I specifically liked how it started in mideas res, like we wanted out short film to be, starting in the middle and almost going in a circle. It reinforced that it can be an effective method. It takes a while for the audience to figure out its the same thing at the end as it is at the beginning and makes it much more shocking and complex, keeping you questioning until the end. In The Mass of Men as well as our short film the first scene is really appalling, which makes it even more relentless and striking when it is played at the end as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In an interview with the director Gabriel Gauchet, he mentioned that originally they were going to have the protagonist (Richard) being the one taking revenge, but they changed it to someone else, representing what the protagonist could be drove to in a year or five years into the future. This extended the time span of the film and made it so much more effective and created so many more enigma codes. If it was Richard taking revenge you’d have some idea about his situation and would know exactly his motivations, this is less clear with the other guy and raises so many more questions. It also brings you to question whether this will be Richard too in a matter of time.