Solace (2003/I)

Director:

Bill Kersey

Writer:

Bill Kersey (writer)

Genre:

Drama | Short

Tagline:

The story of a man, his grief and his guitar.

Plot:

A recording session is transformed into a musical reverie as a guitarist reflects upon events that have influenced his playing. |

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Jon Couch

...

Guitarist

Runtime:

4 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

Tucson, Arizona, USA

Trivia:

Comprised entirely of digital still photographs.

Right on the mark!

As a person who has had an extremely similar situation to that which took place in this work, I must disqualify myself from being a fair and balanced critic of this piece from any technical perspective. I can only speak from the standpoint of experience, and how I relate to this expression of the kind of pain that can originate in the soul of anyone whom has felt such a loss. I have got to say that to me, this was handled with an amazing amount of grace and understanding without "taking off the gloves". As stated in an earlier review, the piece doesn't tell us much about the boy. But he is not the central figure in this story. In this piece the father's story is central, related in the shadow of the grizzly circumstance in which he found himself. Often the father's side in such a situation is not heard. Men often don't talk about the personal calamities of life, whether by virtue of societal expectation or the gene pool. But the story told is about how that which gave sustenance in life before this devastating event, which is enough to equip him, carry him through, and go on to exist for one more chance to, "play it again", telling that story once more. Again, not from a critical, but from an emotional and experiential position, I give this two thumbs…and two big toes up, and will be looking for more good things to come from this director.

The quality from a technical standpoint I think speaks for itself. (It's still hard to believe that it is entirely composed of stills, with seemingly vibrating strings and smoke that seems to be rising.) As for the content and the way the story was presented, it truly moved me, and isn't that what art is all about? I only wish I knew of more quality resources like this.