A.W.O.L (2006)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Jack Swanstrom

Writer:

Shane Black (writer)

Genre:

Short | Action | Drama | Thriller | War

Tagline:

A Twist of Fate Can Be Torture

Plot:

Vietnam. 1972. US Army Special Forces Major Cliff Marquette leads a squad ordered to investigate unusual...

Plot Keywords:

Torture | Twilight Zone | Vietnam Era | Alternative Reality | Independent Film

Awards:

6 wins

Cast

David Morse	...	Marquette
John C. McGinley	...	Garris
Caroline Kristiahn	...	Steffi
Tuan Tran	...	Kwan
Les Robinson	...	Kreps
Doug Amaturo	...	Marine #1
Scott Rose	...	Tow Head Soldier
Joseph M. Smith	...	Marine #2
Greg Brooker	...	Soldier
Robert Harvey	...	Principal
Roberto Kawata	...	Hooded Man
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Christopher Bersh	...	Soldier
Simon Brooke	...	Soldier
Ivory Broome	...	Soldier
Tyree D. Burnett	...	Soldier
Matthew Buzzell	...	Soldier
Franco Calabrese	...	Soldier
Britney Caughell	...	Leah
Felix Chan	...	Viet Cong
Anthony Cuesta	...	Viet Cong
TJ Deline	...	Soldier
Matthew Fling	...	Soldier
Andre Harper	...	Soldier
Heidi Huynh	...	VC Torturer
Brian David Johnson	...	Soldier
Gregory Jones	...	Soldier
Walter Kim	...	Viet Cong
Mark-Takeo Kosakura	...	Viet Cong
Robert Lee	...	Viet Cong
Gilbert Luna	...	Soldier
Johnny Mask	...	Mayor
Keaton Mendoza	...	Candy Bar Kid
Justin Miller	...	Soldier
David Miyawaki	...	Viet Cong
Tom Naughton	...	Soldier
Carlton J. Newsome	...	Soldier
Drew Nolan	...	Ben
Desi O'Brian	...	Soldier
Steven Ochoa	...	Viet Cong
Patrick O'Neal	...	Grif
John Pi	...	Smiling Prisoner
Chad Randau	...	Soldier
Darin Sanek	...	Soldier
Angelo Santos	...	Viet Cong
Mario Soto	...	Soldier
Ashley Taylor	...	Soldier
Jerel Taylor	...	Soldier
Rick Wilkinson	...	Soldier
Alexander Wilson	...	Soldier
Ray Yamagata	...	Viet Cong
Max Yoshikawa	...	Viet Cong

Runtime:

USA:20 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

Bipolar Pictures

Trivia:

Shot on Kodak 35mm short-ends over about 8 days and nights mostly in the hills behind Magic Mountain in Southern California.

A definite WOW short film. Excellent story with superb performances & production value.

Excellent story, wonderful acting, amazing production values and a cool, action-packed short with a perfect twist at the end. What a great short film!

I saw this film in Vail or Aspen at a film festival and was wowed by it. Then I saw it again at another festival (where it won again) and I was even more impressed because subtle touches become evident the second time around - for a short film, this packs a lot of clever layers into a short time.

AWOL is not for the faint of heart, but it is very well done and completely impressive for a short film - for any film actually. It's an interesting story told very well, and every scene moves the story, which reveals good film-making instincts went into making this film. The film looks gorgeous and David Morse is also stunning, with a dynamic performance delivered in every scene. Watching his character attempt to defeat the curveballs life is throwing him makes a great viewing experience.

It also should be noted, that when tortures of war are in the headlines everyday, the lines between reality, good and evil, can get very gray while the rhetoric gets loud and attempts to make things black and white. AWOL smartly allows the audience to decide for themselves what they think the message is, what is real and what is not, which adds to the mystery.

Both times I've seen it, the audience was WAY more into this movie than the others playing with it, which is saying a lot. There are a lot of shorts out there right now, but few deliver the kind of all around excellence and complex subject matter that AWOL does.

It sounds to me like the previous reviewer is off his or her rocker, or has some personal agenda, because this really is a great example of short independent film-making. I see a LOT of short films, and I must say if only ALL the shorts making the festival rounds were this good, THEN the shorts business would have some serious legs.