Gungnir

In Old Norse mythology, Gungnir was the spear of Odin. Neither as fancy nor as famous as its hammer-headed cousin Mjolnir, Gungnir is rather light on lore, save for the fact that it had the ability to always hit its target no matter who was doing the wielding. In writer/director Leomax He’s new short film, Gungnir is the present which Leo (Alexander) gets for his tenth birthday, this time made of cheap plastic and dodgy electronics, and with the ability to record the wish of the holder.

Leo’s best friend and number one crush, Charly (He) is also at his birthday party, and the two of them do their best to have a good time despite the antics of the rest of the children who are running around. Everything is spoiled though, when it’s announced that Charly will be headed to China with her family in the next few days, to go and live there. In his grief, Leo makes a wish to Gungnir for Charly to stay in America; for something to happen which would mean that she didn’t have to leave, no matter the price that would have to be paid.

When COVID-19 comes along to stop the flights and close the borders, Leo unwittingly gets everything he asked for, but when anti-Asian sentiment starts to get stirred up throughout lockdown, he has to try and comes to terms with the guilt he feels for the wish he made.

The beauty of He’s film lies in it being a lockdown story without it being a lockdown story. Everything we see on screen is vivid and full of life; full of people. Lots of the scenes are shot outdoors and there’s a world of colour which comes through from the trees, the grass, the sunsets and other parts of nature. All credit goes to DoP, Mufeng Han who captures it all intensely, soaking in the colours and getting close to the characters with some nice, fluid camerawork.

The direction, too, from Leomax He, is what stands this story out from the usual ZOOM call, static camera, isolation films which populate the lockdown genre. There is a large focus on family and togetherness in Gungnir, with the children representing a large part of the themes and issues being discussed. Some of the scenes have a shade or two of E.T.(1982) about them, especially with the way the kids interact, and the natural, everyday feel to the positioning of the camera, almost documentary style, is reminiscent of a lot of Richard Linklater’s work, especially Boyhood(2014).

Whether Gungnir succeeds or not rests largely with the performances of the children, taking up as they do, a large part of the narrative. It is again credit to He that he is able to get such open and natural performances from the kids and it was a masterstroke to get six siblings from the same family to play them. Cooper Alexander and Harmonie He as the two leads also work well together, and their natural style and understated performance relate a maturity which sits behind the actions of their characters.

What He has created in Gungnir is nothing short of extraordinary. He has managed to subvert the genre from something which is usually grey and static into something beautiful and full of life. The fantasy element and reference to Norse mythology sit nicely within the narrative, and it’s He’s original approach to the telling of the story which means that, as was foretold, Gungnir truly hits its mark.