Broken (2005/I)

Director:

Alex Ferrari

Writers:

Alex Ferrari (story)
Jorge F. Rodriguez (screenplay)

Release Date:

7 February 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Short | Action | Crime | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

What if your truth... were a lie?

Plot:

A gun blast, a flash of light, and a young woman awakens to the comfort of her own bed. Bonnie Clayton has it all...

Plot Keywords:

The Matrix | Minidv | Comic Book | Superhero | Low Budget Film

Awards:

6 wins

Cast

Samantha Jane Polay	...	Bonnie
Paul Gordon	...	Duncan
Amber Crawford	...	Marquez
Derek Evans	...	Christian
Tony Gomez	...	Gabriel
Jose Luis Navas	...	Snake
Danilo Begovic	...	Pinball
Stephan Morris	...	Shamon
Ruben Gomez	...	Penance
Ken Robkin	...	Ukyo
Eric Townsend	...	Kangol Guy
Howard Dobinsky	...	Doctor
Deidre Washington	...	Nurse
Toby Burge	...	Orderly #1
Jorge Carcases	...	Orderly #2

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Filming Locations:

A.G. Holley Hospital - 1199 W. Lantana Road, Lantana, Florida, USA

Company:

Enigma Factory, The

Trivia:

A hurricane delayed the production for two weeks and flooded and damaged many of the locations seen in the short. The production team decide to write the new destruction into the script.

Quotes:

Bonnie: I just want my life back!
Duncan: It wasn't your life to begin with.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Broken: Marketing and Promoting a Short Film (2005) (V)

I've seen BROKEN over ten times and can't get enough! Indie Filmmaker's DREAM!

So begins Alex Ferrari's directorial debut, Broken. What is special about Broken is that it is designed to push all boundaries about what you can do with "no money". The visual look of this film is gorgeous. The director made sure he sat down with his graphic designers and artists and had this film storyboarded beautifully and completely costume designed. The music in Broken is strangely chilling and compelling, decidedly off-putting with just a touch of an industrial bondage effect. The sound effects are quite good for virtually all the film, with excellent gunfire sounds throughout. The use of budget in this film is simply phenomenal. From my understanding, much of the budget of this film didn't go to light rental, camera rental, effects, gun purchasing, or costumes, rather much of the film's budget went to food and beverages.

Nearly three hours of how-to information for $19.99 is pretty darn impressive. For the amount of stuff that you will undoubtedly try based on this DVD, it's one of the simplest investments you can make.

The DVD for Broken is so dichotomous that it had to be reviewed in two separate places. On one hand, it's a very impressive first action/horror short film. On the other hand, it's a very in-depth DVD manual on how to make realistic special effects and gunfights with virtually no money, with the final short working as an example of all the different elements in the film. While some of the training in this DVD should have been broken down to a more step-by- step approach for true newcomers to film-making and effects, the things that Ferrari and Rodriguez bring to the table are truly impressive and inspiring. If you can watch through all the features in this DVD and not get ideas for how to make your own films even better, then you might not be alive.

I've seen this short over ten times and I notice something new each time. While it does not answer almost any of the questions it raises, it definitely makes you appreciate what these young filmmakers accomplished for our art and makes you look forward to seeing a full- length feature.

An excellent first film, this short breaks down the barriers of what can be accomplished in the realm of action and suspense at the micro-budget level. As other filmmakers build on the work of Mr. Ferrari, Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. Falcon, and all the other folks that made this film possible, this may prove to be one of the most inspirational short films for our cause in quite some time!