Steamwrecked
The short film entitled Steamwrecked is a fun piece that is a mix of steampunk and post-apocalyptic genres. It has an interesting premise in which the characters have figured out how to harness lightning power into canisters. I still don’t quite understand how this would be possible, but for the sake of the film, if we go along with it as reality, it works.
The two main characters have crashed in their flying machine, aka lightning-collecting zeppelin, and the first thing I noticed was the items that survived the explosion or disintegration of the ship are for the most part unscathed. I would have expected some scorch marks or more non-intact debris. The items strewn about are clean and what I figure is maybe they fell from the sky and settled in the sand. So I’ll go with it. Other than that, the film is really tight with appearance, costuming, etc. The special effects are very cool.
Rowe and Captain August are trying to get to a town where they can trade the last two canisters of bottled lightning for food or supplies. But there are scavengers hot on their trail, and Rowe has hurt her ankle. At first Rowe and August have a disagreement over whether to take the lightning with them, for it is heavy and cumbersome. Rowe is not about to give up her only bargaining chips, though, which she proves with her pistol pointed at August, so he realizes the best thing to do is help her take their prized cargo to the nearest town, a few days’ journey away.
Rowe’s ankle is a constant problem and they have to fight off scavengers here and there. Rowe doesn’t believe August’s explanation that the lightning canisters have been weaponized, until nighttime when she spots a flying zeppelin and says they must still be close to the trade routes, but then she and August stare in horror as some scavengers on the ground blast the zeppelin with lightning, bringing it down in flames. They can hear the cries of the people on board and the alarms going as it lights up the dark sky and then burns out. It’s very disheartening for Rowe. She realizes that August is right about the weaponized lightning. August learns why Rowe is so desperate to trade the canisters, and her ankle is getting worse, so they journey on.
The characters are like-able, and the actors and crew do a great job making this world feel believable. I enjoyed the cinematography and the story. The end is really good and of course I can’t give it away. I’ll say that it involves really awesome special effects and something a bit unexpected from one of the characters. Their split-second decision is surprising, but wraps up the film nicely. I can tell the team who made this film is very passionate about steampunk genre. It was fun to watch. I’m glad I don’t live in that time or place. There isn’t much hope, everything is very barren, and I have no idea what people would do for food. The scavengers are frightening, but at least most of the time they could hear them coming. This film reminded me how thankful I am for home, food, safety, family, etc. I think it’s well-made film and I enjoyed watching it.
