Life Boat (2017) Reviews

• Might be the best short film ever.

  CinematicInceptions2017-12-30

  This was, in my opinion, the best short film that I saw during the 2017 Rhode Island International Film Festival. It was as mind blowing and dark as a Chuck Palahniuk story, but more uplifting. I got the sense that the script probably went through tons of revisions and drafts before reaching its final product, but it was definitely worth the effort. The actors also gave great performances, particularly the teacher, but the teenagers felt totally real and reacted to the exercise in a way that felt very organic. Fighting others for survival always seems to bring out the worst in people both in history and in literature, but when the participants are suicidal it completely changes things. I loved the way that all of the ways that stereotypes are normally viewed were sort of turned on their heads here because the goal was for the kids to find value in their own lives. The instructor keeps reminding the kids that the views other people had about them got them into the state of mind they're in now, so they need to take them into account and acknowledge them in backing up who they chose to save. I don't know where you can find this to view it, but it's absolutely worth seeing. Not a pleasant subject matter by any account, but incredibly uplifting in the most unexpected way.

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