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★★★★
Directed by: #TobyKearton
Written by: Toby Kearton
Starring: #JoshuaGurr, #AnthonyManiscalco and #AnThienPhan
Short film The Dust Child is based deep in the hot and sticky jungles of Vietnam (all films just show the gross, sweaty and sticky nature of any jungle, why has nobody installed air conditioning?) two army medics are chilling by a river, probably because of all the sweating, when they get the call that they are desperately needed to attend to some injured soldiers.
As they try to depart, they hear the cries of a young girl nearby and decided to investigate...No! Don’t, go the other way, don’t you understand that you are needed urgently? Are they sharing her injuries? Is this communism at its finest?
The girl has been shot/stabbed/attacked by the massive snake in anaconda who took a liking to #JenniferLopez, and the two medics deliberate leaving her to scream in a field or go help their brothers in arms who desperately need some assistance...They decide to do the communist thing and share their medical equipment with the victim of an anaconda attack.
They are idiots though because like a good communist she wants to share the grenade blast from her secret grenade she has on her, and we swiftly learn that all good deeds go punished…war is hell.
But I will tell you what is not hell, the beauty and attention to detail that has gone into the visuals of The Dust Child as a #shortfilm. The costumes, location, the hazy filter used throughout which creates that vintage feel, all generate a high quality to the immersion of this work.
Director Toby Kearton clearly draws inspiration from the old 1980’s Vietnam #warmovies, the script, soundtrack and stylized shooting reminded me of classics such as Good Morning Vietnam and of course Full Metal Jacket.
The storyline is well thought out and moralistic, as a viewer we have to consider what we would do in that situation, we have to care about the characters whether we want to or not, and despite the negative ending to what was just somebody trying to help, we learn a vital lesson; sharing is for life, not just for communists.
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