650 North

I may or may not have teared up a bit towards the end of “650 North”. The story had me going every step of the way and when something major is revealed, my eyes swelled up out of nowhere. This is a film about a homeless man who seeks shelter in cars during the winter to keep warmth. This is a film about what it means to be giving and to help others. This is a film about how to connect with somebody who is lost in the world.

The film opens up on a homeless man who wanders amongst a neighborhood. It’s a cold night for the man as he stops by a house. He peers inside to see the family having a lovely dinner with one another. The man goes to the car and essentially breaks in to stay warm. He leaves the next morning before the husband walks out of his home. The man does it again the next night, but has a close call in the morning and leaves something in the car and thus the husband finds out somebody has been staying in his car… I’m going to stop right there because the rest of the events that take place are worth watching without going into great detail about it.

The film has a very cold feel to it. Visually it’s dark and the main character looks miserable. Just watching him suffer outside made me shiver thinking about what the temperature degree was. During the day it’s bright – not the “it’s sunny out here” kind of bright – it’s the kind of bright you see when you look out the window on a snow-filled day with the clouded sun reflecting off of frozen snow. It’s the days you would rather stay inside and say screw it. This man endures all of that and it’s odd to think about how miserable it is. Seeing as Utah is a state that has a huge homeless issue in the heart of downtown, I found this short film to be extremely relatable. It actually forced me to take a step back and look at the current situation at large.

I think the cinematography is another element that really helped this piece move forward. The camera movements are slow and subtle and the amount of depth each character has says a lot. There are angles that reveal how miserable the man is and then there are angles that reveal emotion from the actors when they find out somebody has been sleeping in their car. There’s something about the camera work that feels raw, which helps this story immensely and works in its favor.

The directing is another aspect to enjoy. The fact the film invokes the feeling of getting cold and miserable, the feeling of almost getting caught, and the feeling where you want to scream at a movie for making you cry (hint, hint); it speaks beyond words to pull all that off in a short film, yet it has been accomplished.

Overall I really loved how touching and raw this ended up being. I recommend this for the last three minutes alone. It forces us to take a step back and not judge a book by its cover. There are lessons, there are reveals, and there are payoffs.