I am the Wanderer: Director's Cut

A surreal short film by prolific independent filmmaker Philip Brocklehurst.

The author of this review has reviewed numerous short films by Brocklehurst and would like to take this opportunity to mention that this is the first one (from the reviewed ones) that does not include the director as an actor.

Like the title suggests, this project is about an unnamed young man (O' Brien) who seems to be lost. To describe the narrative a bit, it begins with him lying on the ground, near a tree, sleeping. A young woman in a lovely flowery dress (Spacirova) approaches him and lies beside him. The man then wakes up (was that a dream?) and arrives at a busy road and attempts to hitch-hike, before the same woman appears and this time she walks away. The man continues his journey.

As mentioned, surrealism is present in this film, with no speech and no diegetic sounds and a story with occurrences whose meaning is probably open to interpretation. One example would be another unnamed woman (Browne) who is driving a car. What is the significance of her presence? The narrative does not identify the characters by name and leaves a bunch of question marks: Who are these people? Why is the man wondering around? The fact that there are no aswers is not a negative thing as that way this short can be appreciated as a surreal experience. An experience with mystery, romance and apparently danger too.

The music is the work of Stephan Ortlepp, a frequent collaborator of Brocklehurst and his contribution is one of the strongest aspects of this film. The score includes beautiful piano melodies and dynamic drumming and they create an emotional and dramatic atmosphere.

The final shot of the film should also be acknowledged as it is quite a powerful moment thanks to Brocklehurst's direction and the music that accompanies it.

What is going on in this short arguably depends on the viewer's perspective. This is a surreal drama. It is partially a love story, about two people finding each other and partially a story about being lost and being rescued. The heart-warming ending appears to suggest that love is the best treatment.