Snooze Time

There are quite a few times with short films where I intellectually know that they are not perfect films, and that they have flaws that on another day maybe would break the film for me, but at the same time I love what it does and how it does it. This is the case with the New Zealand short film Snooze Time, which on one hand is a bit too sentimental and obvious in some aspects of its delivery, but then on the other is true, honest and moving in its discussion of how one's perception of time changes through a lifetime – with the only constant being that it is running out.

I think the clash comes between the words and the pictures. So to deal with the words first, they are beautifully written and delivered; the delicate background of the music guides the feelings of the viewer, without ever crassly pushing them. The poetry of the dialogue is very effective – meditative and encouraging the viewer to reflect with it, on how time flies, time slows, time drags, and yes how it ultimately runs out. Okay there is an element of sentiment about it, but mostly it manages this well. The same is mostly true of the images – they do match the dialogue, following the narrator through time and the film. I had some reservation about this as, although effective, I thought some of the scenes were maybe a bit too obvious and perhaps put too much in front of the viewer when it would have been better to give us more space to explore what we are feeling, but mostly it did both – just some specifics I thought a bit too on the nose.

It isn't a perfect film, and I'm sure for some viewers they will feel the film stumbles and fails on the aspects that I think it bridged, however it is a touching one (mainly thanks to the writing and delivery) and it is a film that will give you a feeling of reflection and thought.