The Song Of The Cricket

The real charm of this short is the way it takes the pulpy crime stereotype of the One Last Hit - and turns it eloquently on its head. A terrorist militant wants to leave his organisation to start a new life with his girlfriend - who is represented tenuously in the movie by the other end of a mobile phone conversation.

To be released, he must assassinate an important councillor, but the would-be murderer has trouble when the target turns out to be someone from his past.

Director Dany Campos has spent a great deal of time making this flick look slick and professional, quite enough to shoulder the mild deficiencies in the script. It is well-cut, grabbing your attention in the first minute. It intrigues and delivers on the promise of the character-based suspense.

It also poses the simple, yet profound question of just what does your life mean to others? In life, no one really asks it, nor do we answer.