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★★★
Directed by: #JimAllison
Written by: #JimAllison
Starring: #KeithRajala, #ChristianSvizzero, #RaymondPental
A poor prospector who happens to stumble upon extreme wealth, finds out quickly - grand riches may sometimes complicate things.
Fools, Gold (2020) is a short comedy running at just under five minutes and was filmed in San Jose, California. The narrative is simple, yet charming and makes for an easy, entertaining watch.
We open with a suitably Western ‘cowboy’ style, immersing viewers from the opening shot, which reveals a barren scorching land and Aaron Burnham’s jovial score features that familiar twang of old Western movies. A gold-era prospector (Rajala) is lucky enough to spot a golden nugget in a shallow river when he is washing his bowl and the short quirky takes a quirky, dark tone when he immediately falls off a cliff. The build up to his fall is signalled well through hand-held shaky camera, as he clumsily surveys his surroundings, seemingly overcome with excitement over finding his gold and a passing eagle above appears to knock him over.
The short takes an unexpected turn by treading into supernatural territory by the appearance of the literal Grim Reaper and deadpan humour ensues as the prospector is completely unaware of his fatal circumstances. Director and writer, Jim Allison, an award winning filmmaker and visual artist, displays a playful scenario here with some nice use of lighting and convincing special effects with the appearance of Death, who uses his scythe to summon lightning to attempt to silence the delirious prospector. It is humorous to think on the concept of Death itself buying in to materialistic gain, despite what the apparition presents otherwise.
Although this film does not deliver on anything ground-breaking, the performances are enjoyable, there is plausible humour throughout and a concise screenplay keeps engagement high. There is clear talent here to be seen on both sides of the camera and optimism is high for future projects by Jim Allison.
Fools, Gold (2020) trailer:
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