This is "God: Serengeti" and it is probably the shortest of the films so far released by Oscar nominee Neil Blomkamps's new production company Oats Studios. But to me, it is probably also their best. It runs for slightly under 4 minutes and shows us what God does in his free time, namely read a book and give instructions to his loyal butler on what should happen to humanity next. The table was probably the highlight of it all and it was at least as enjoyable and entertaining to watch the people on it as it was to watch the two central characters here. It is a comedy I would say, a relatively dark one perhaps and the last thing that happens show us that there is no reason or logic in God's actions. Actually, he comes off as a bit of a sociopath in here. Anyway, Jason Cope plays the butler (also worked with Blomkamp on many other occasions) while God is played by Sharlto Copley and I am sure you have seen this actor's work in Blomkamp's "District 9" if you consider seeing this one here. It is probably something that looks entirely different than not just the latter, but everything else by Blomkamp so far and while I like D9, actually love it, this may be the reason why this (very) short film turns out so well. I suggest you check it out and I am sure you will not be disappointed.
6 Reviews
Really simple concept, but nice execution makes it worth the watch
Horst_In_Translation24 July 2017
Warning: Spoilers
God Serengeti: Oats Studios weak link
Platypuschow29 August 2017
Well nothing lasts forever right? Wall to wall great shorts from Oats Studios and here we have a bit of a stinker by comparison.
All the previous efforts were sci-fi epics and this is an attempt at comedy that fails miserably. Ontop of that Oats shorts are usually around the 20-25 minute mark and this is closer to 4.
All about God and his servant Jeffrey overlooking the people of the Serengeti and his anger at them discovering fire.
I get what they were trying to do, but it simply wasn't funny, entertaining and the ending was dark without a purpose.
To clarify I'm not a resentful Christian, there are plenty of things in life I believe in but an almighty cloudman is not among them.
In the bible I'm sure this story can be found. Somewhere in between the Power Ranger vs Care Bears battle royal and the passage about a man being struck down by God for fertilising the ground with his seed instead of his wife.
The Good:
Sharlto Copley as God
Directed and written by Neill Blomkamp
Nice idea
The Bad:
Poor writing
Far too short
Things I learnt from this movie:
The earth is flat, in fact it's just a dining room table in gods study
Heaven looks like the royal palace
Elephants are to humans what dogs are to sheep
All the previous efforts were sci-fi epics and this is an attempt at comedy that fails miserably. Ontop of that Oats shorts are usually around the 20-25 minute mark and this is closer to 4.
All about God and his servant Jeffrey overlooking the people of the Serengeti and his anger at them discovering fire.
I get what they were trying to do, but it simply wasn't funny, entertaining and the ending was dark without a purpose.
To clarify I'm not a resentful Christian, there are plenty of things in life I believe in but an almighty cloudman is not among them.
In the bible I'm sure this story can be found. Somewhere in between the Power Ranger vs Care Bears battle royal and the passage about a man being struck down by God for fertilising the ground with his seed instead of his wife.
The Good:
Sharlto Copley as God
Directed and written by Neill Blomkamp
Nice idea
The Bad:
Poor writing
Far too short
Things I learnt from this movie:
The earth is flat, in fact it's just a dining room table in gods study
Heaven looks like the royal palace
Elephants are to humans what dogs are to sheep
Sim City played by Brian
sirrosso2 October 2021
Nice idea but feels like it could have done more than it did
bob the moo15 July 2017
Neill Blomkamp's Oat Studios released a handful of short films recently, billing them as creative playgrounds of sorts. This film is probably the most creative of the bunch (the others, although good, are built on very generic bases), whereas this one has a clever idea and also an interesting commentary on the nature of God. With that in mind though, it is unfortunate that it doesn't work as well as it should and ends up feeling like a missed opportunity.
God and his butler sit in the library while on the table in front of them, a scene plays out on a miniature of the Serengeti, with Neolithic man. Mostly disinterested in what these funny little men are doing while he reads, God allows himself to intervene to prevent their advancement, grant them kindness, but also unleash cruelty on his subjects. It is a nicely odd, comical, but yet serious film, and one that is interesting for the way it presents God. The one thing that is clear is that he sees humanity as amusing at best, but otherwise he is totally apathetic towards us – just in the same way as we'll go on a rampage in Grand Theft Auto etc, they are not real people to our view.
The downside of the film is that this simple point is delivered quickly and without much finesse. It makes it punchy perhaps, but I did wonder why it was so short when the other films were much longer; there was certainly scope to expand on this to make the same point but in a more gradual and impacting manner. Still interesting and polished enough to be worth your time, but it does feel like it could have been more.
God and his butler sit in the library while on the table in front of them, a scene plays out on a miniature of the Serengeti, with Neolithic man. Mostly disinterested in what these funny little men are doing while he reads, God allows himself to intervene to prevent their advancement, grant them kindness, but also unleash cruelty on his subjects. It is a nicely odd, comical, but yet serious film, and one that is interesting for the way it presents God. The one thing that is clear is that he sees humanity as amusing at best, but otherwise he is totally apathetic towards us – just in the same way as we'll go on a rampage in Grand Theft Auto etc, they are not real people to our view.
The downside of the film is that this simple point is delivered quickly and without much finesse. It makes it punchy perhaps, but I did wonder why it was so short when the other films were much longer; there was certainly scope to expand on this to make the same point but in a more gradual and impacting manner. Still interesting and polished enough to be worth your time, but it does feel like it could have been more.
Really nice
gianmarcoronconi22 January 2022
What Size Are God's Shoes?!...
azathothpwiggins21 July 2019
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