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Directed by Frederik Gøtske
Starring Aksel Schilling Andersen, Frederik Markus Rytoft Gotske, Jacob Elias Vinther Pedersen, Thomas Sørensen
Short Film Review by Annie Vincent
A cool, retro short which merges comic book sketches, a great synthesiser soundtrack and some fun nods to the 1980s, Drawn Away is an enjoyable watch.
Made by a group of Danish students, Drawn Away follows the imagination of a young boy, told by his Dad to give up the empty frivolity of his comic books and ‘get it together’. But the boy just loves comic book stories, particularly the stories about Valor, and left to his own devices in his room, his imagination draws him away to one of Valor’s capers.
Tracking down the evil Blake and his cronies, disguised behind masks reminiscent of the Halloween films, he tries to stop them destroying all of the Valor comic books, which they are furiously burning. After some hiccups, Valor finally confronts and ends the bad guys, saving the last remaining copy of the comic.
Whilst the premise may seem basic, the way this film is shot and edited is really appealing and thoughtful. There is some great camerawork from the get-go with a lot of close camerawork to introduce us to the young boy who dreams of comic book heroism. As a silent film, it relies heavily on sound effects and the synthesiser tracks throughout are a great accompaniment. Typical space tunnel graphics are used in the opening credits, alongside a frequent but gentle shift between comic book pencil sketches and live action scenes, as a constant reminder of the comic-dream world we are a part of. And the film sustains that world so well, with nods throughout to the late 1970s and 1980s, including Valor’s ghetto-blaster radio and the Pet-Shop Boys-style glasses.
Drawn Away is an engaging and amusing film. It would be patronising to say this is all the more impressive because of how young the creators are; the film is impressive anyway, but it is hoped this young talent will continue to produce such charm.
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