Alicia Moore
- Jul 6, 2020
- 2 min read

Bestattungsinstitut Short Film Review

★★★ Stars

Starring: #CarlosBrum, #SrinivasaraoDoppalapudi, #JohnHerring, #SarahSirard

This image shows a vast landscape; a wide lake covered with many lily pads, a darkened green forest of tall trees further in the distance along the edge of the river. The colouring of the image is overall quite dull but the title of the film covers the area of the image in block, vibrant green text.

Bestattungsinstitut depicts Arthur (Carlos Brum) reflecting on summer memories that he holds close to his heart. Although he had no idea during his experiences in that present situation, that specific summer would be a life-changing time. Meanwhile, something unusual is happening to Arthur but he cannot figure out why everything seems different now. Despite not having any solid knowledge of this change’s cause, he has a suspicion that Mr. Hunt (John Herring) may have a hand in it all.

This short film is incredibly creative and carries interesting artistic features. However, the timeline itself is quite confusing and muddled. There isn’t much noticeable flow between the many scenes that are stitched together to create this film, almost as if the wrong colour of thread has been used to stitch the scenes; a colour that doesn’t partially match the cloth. The type of flow and connection that the scenes attempt to create is quite intriguing and does match the plot’s elaborate content – the film succeeds in that sense, but the overall timeline and meaning within the plot is lost to the wrong stitching in the final product.

The acting shown is somewhat stiff and doesn’t present much characterisation, but the actors involved do put forward a good performance as a collective group. The cast work well together, feeding off of each other’s emotions and actions; I was pleasantly impressed by the abilities of the cast to pair together in this subtle way. Despite any negative criticism that I can give, the script is delivered with vibrancy and is applied by the actors very well within each scene that they stand in.

One of my favourite factors of this short film is the music, composed by Raymond Norman. The music provides the perfect ambience throughout the film, brilliantly pairing with the context of the script itself. Each track adds to the mysterious element of the film as well as adding more depth to the writing that is being voiced. Without this specific pattern of sound, the short would definitely not possess the same existing sense of suspense that it does when audience members are placed in front of the final picture produced.

Overall, this short film’s highest quality aspect is the writing, by Josh Turner. Sophisticated dialogue is presented to the audience with beautiful, almost poetic forms of speech. The best moments to watch are the short monologues included at certain points in the film by prominent characters within the plot. Each line is packed with intoxicating and insightful language; words that truly pierce one’s mind. Turner obviously seems to have a brilliant mind in association with writing and filmmaking in general; he has a lot of colourful ideas, working visually and with striking artistry – in regards to his position in writing as well as directing.

It is difficult to bring a story stored in a mind to life with commendable value but Josh Turner brought his writing into the world with praise-worthy energy. Despite the components that bring Bestattungsinstitut down a few levels, it is still an immersive and fascinating short film with a dedicated cast and crew.