Pumzi is an
intriguing concept that doesn’t have nearly enough funding. During its
twenty-one minute runtime it reveals its promise as a feature film that is
trapped within the small budget and timeframe of a short film. As a short film,
Pumzi is clunky and tries to develop
too much material for its own good. For these reasons the movie is a failure as
a short film, but given enough funding Pumzi
can be developed into another critically acclaimed sci-fi film made in Africa
like District 9. This is a movie that
has much to say and too little time. Important contemporary issues like the environment
are examined in the movie and the conclusion is noteworthy. I feel as though
the power of the individual is expressed in the conclusion and the unity of man
and nature.
I too was struck by the fact that the implausible or shoddy aspects of the film, such as the risk taken by the cleaning servant or the failure to explain why verbal communications had been displaced in favor of digital to auditory machines, were largely where the film was lacking; certainly it had style, smarts, and contemporary criticism to go around but it really did feel as if it tried to do way too many things too quickly.
ReplyDeleteI honestly think they did a great job on the limited budget they had. It would be better as a feature length film so some of the aspects of the film would be more understandable and believable. But I think they definitely worked with what they had and pulled it off. It was one of my favorites of the class.
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