Cello
“Cello” is written and directed by Angie Su, and stars Alexander Craven as a brilliant cello performer with a daughter and a granddaughter, who after being diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease (A nervous system disease that weakens muscles and impacts physical function.) Is faced with having to choose to progressively deteriorate, and lose his ability to play music, move, or even breath on his own, or contemplate assisted suicide. The story explores getting what it’s like getting older, how it feels to lose the thing you love doing in life, as well as when facing an impossible choice, do you choose, or let fate decide for you?
This is a very powerful film that explores difficult topics very in a short film format. It has a lot of emotion and depth to its characters, particularly the main character played by Craven. I personally have asked myself many of the questions posed in the film about nervous system diseases like Lou Gehrig’s disease, or memory diseases like Alzheimer’s where if I were I diagnosed what would I do? What Craven is able to do by not only portraying a character who you empathize with, but one that doesn’t have a clear right or wrong answer to his dilemma, causes the audience to engage personally with him, and invites much discussion after the credits start to roll.
Another standout performance is the young granddaughter played by Samantha Desman. She was the heart of the story that brought a lot of the emotional moments to the film during the scenes between her and her grandfather. She goes through the story being in awe of her grandfather’s talent and ability, and as the story progresses you see his influence in her as she starts her own journey through the arts. Desman adds so much to the film and is one to look for when it comes to awards for the best-supporting actress.
The music is breathtaking and fitting to the story. As this film revolves around a cellist, the score also reflects that through a full orchestra featuring the cello. Technically the film is well crafted, with unique perspective shots and gorgeous wide panning shots during the ending of the film that games me goosebumps while watching it. The cinematography is clean and full of emotion, and the camerawork was smooth and exact. The editing and pacing of the film take its time with the audience and has a very steady feel to it. With technical fines and a moving story, “Cello” hits just about every mark when it comes to how an independent film should be made.
Overall, “Cello” is heartfelt and moving. It has emotional depth and high concept storytelling that is only enhanced with it’s engaging and real characters. It doesn’t shy away from the hard topics and packs in a beautiful score, great visuals, and I has a really good time getting to watch and ponder what I had seen. Whether the ending is satisfying enough is up to the individual viewer, but I would recommend to anyone wanting to see some of the best examples of storytelling and independent filmmaking.
