User Reviews

Bonobo presents a look into the issue of living together. We see people who are brought together by necessity, as a result of the urban life. The events that cause the rising tension of these people have been depicted in a realistic language. This realistic language draws us into the film, and also makes us think about the topic of living together.

Original story, engaging plot,a pleasure to watch.

If you are talented storyteller, the recipe is simple: mix one high-rise boulding, some ordinary people and bloody elevator. Result? Bonobo - wonderfull, gripping short about frustration.

The movie follows three different characters. There is an old disabled guy Felix, the type of neighbor who is always calling police and yelling at children; single mother Ana, struggling with her move and young guard Seydou, who wants to be a dancer (you may say he's a dreamer*). When the elevator of their boulding breaks down, the fates of Felix, Ana and Seydou intertwine towards an intense finale.

Young director Zoel Aeschbacher gives a realistic look on everyday life, social problems, relationships and clearly shows the anger and frustration of people who feel trapped by their circumstances.

The cinematography and editing are great, the story is really well written, characters are likeable and the actors do a very good job. Emotionaly Bonobo is a rollarcoaster. I think we'll be seeing a lot more of Zoel Aeschbacher.

* But he's not the only one.

What happens when you live in the hood, in a high-rise block, and your elevator strikes? It happens nothing. No one cares. No money, no elevator. This thrilling short film portrays three residents of the high-rise block as they struggle in different ways with the damaged elevator and as they are left alone by the persons responsible and the society itself. In the disturbing finale of the film, the elevator leads to more problems and struggles and the viewer is left with the question: what would have been happened if society were fair? BONOBO is a well-composed, fast and fascinating short film that raises issues.

We were very impressed by this movie really inventive and very well directed by Zoel Aeschbacher. For sure, we are already excited watching the next movie.

A brilliant work of art! Zoel Aeschbacher direct this short-film with a unique, creative and realistic vibe. With unforgettable sequnces, the story take us to an empatic deep feeling with the characters. Simply Amazing!

An elevator is the excuse and the common point to describe a series of characters with daily problems that take them to the limit. The director demonstrates a great maturity and precision to describe characters and their personal worlds in a few minutes, also exposing an interesting analysis of society and addressing issues such as immigration, loneliness, frustrations and dreams. An impeccable mise en scène . A director to watch and follow closely.

Fine cinema with interesting use of space and humor

It is within a popular Condominium in the developed and aseptic Switzerland that the filmmaker, Zoel Aeschbacher , develops with mastery the representation of the complex social contradictions that explode at all times in the countries where conflicting economic and cultural inequalities coexist. A broken elevator is witness to the insurmountable difficulty encountered by several representatives of vulnerable populations: A retired physically disabled man who naively complains to fix the lift that can take him down, a Hispanic immigrant with his son who desperately tries to move out of the apartment and receive the deposit back to be able to pay bail to another location, an unemployed African immigrant with talent for dancing looking for a chance to develop his art. All three, frustrated in their projects by a metaphorical elevator that is always defective and stops at the most important moments. The final explosion of so many frustrations is magnificently brought to the scene by the director and the performance of the actors.

This cinematic fugue successfully interweaves a dynamic group of narratives that build towards a riveting finale. A collection of seemingly disparate perspectives coalesce to address the deficiencies of communication inherent within a community. Zoel Aeschbacher has crafted a defining example of the short film that will not soon be forgotten.

A masterfully created short film. It is a very original story idea. Each character has a unique story, and each story intertwines together and leads up to an incredible finale. I LOVED the slow-motion montage at the end, with the intense music score.

The film contains all the essences of a good short film such as concise, engaging and suggestive script, acting and visual. We cannot help but either identifying ourselves or sympathizing at least one of the characters, if not all, in such a short period of time because of the effective script. The topic is also very relevant to today's time when so many people are concerned about economic disparity and social welfare as well as immigrants and racism.

Bonobo is an incredible, realistic, elaborated shortfilm about a group of neighboors from the same buiding. The story thread is amazing developed and the actors perform in a way that the movie develop itself as a real story. I got to watch it in a festival and I did not expected to see such a quality shortfilm. It is great to show in any kind of festival which deals with social issues, immigration background... I totally recommend it to all the audiences, origins, ages and tastes, totally worth it!!!!

The apartment which is always considered as a shelter, symbolically as a safe place for people, is now in a real turmoil. The inner troubles leave their impacts on the safety, the outer pressures make it worst. This is our society that we've made, keeps moving farther from its origin, safety, tranquility, mutual understanding, communication, etc. There is a chain of events with the people carrying various backgrounds through a great structure, wonderful editing and directing.

Bonobo is an impressive short film! Our program jury has voted the short into our 14th edition of 20minmax Short Film Festival. Congratulations!

With it´s unique techniques and interesting perspective, the director proves to be a master of creative storytelling. We are brought into a world that is hauntingly beautiful in it´s unfairness and struggles, and still remains to give us real human emotion dancing in front of us on the screen.

The short film Bonobo has an outstanding screenplay. He brings together the fates of several people who are on the margins of society and insist on their rights.

One advantage of making a short film is you only need to present an incident or an idea well. Things like keeping an intact plot, narrative structure and character development... well, let those making feature films to worry about! No such problem for Bonobo, which is totally satisfactory on all layers and brilliantly realised in a short film format.

Three characters with no relations to each other but connected through their residency in the same housing estate, have their lives changed because of an elevator. The film brutally depicts the urban decay of our modern society and the multitude of social predicaments arises.

I saw 'Bonobo' at the 2018 Melbourne International Film Festival and thought it a cleverly interwoven story of intersecting lives, all influenced by the spasmodic behaviour of the elevator. It was all the more impressive on a second viewing. It winds up the audience with all the frustrations of modern life: bureaucrats who don't listen, companies with no service, social injustice. It's a universal slice of life in 2018 we all can recognise.

I really got caught by the story which I found original, entertaining and astonishing- The movie show us how real life is: full of contradictions, full of stories, lights and shadows... With a brilliant direction of Zoel Aeschbacher, and through and astute, unexpected and revealing story, this shortfilm let us Breathless! Must see!

Reading the gushing reviews on IMDb, I must admit I do feel a certain pressure to adore this film in the way others seem to have done. I do not love it as much, but I certainly enjoyed what it did with its trio of socially-aware narratives, and how well it fused them together around a system failure to then demonstrate the pressures and entrapment on the individuals. This it does very well. In terms of the individual narratives, I didn't think any one of them really broke out of the specifics of their scenario, which is to say that I found them to be their scene rather than people. However, despite this, the film makes them work well, because ultimately the viewer is caught up in the pressure that is on them, and it carried me along with it as it seemed to increase its pace and tension in time with the musical score which plays unobtrusively in the back.

The locations and performances are well delivered, and the social message resonates because of how it draws the viewer into the pressure and the feeling of being trapped by situations that simply having more money and more access would solve. I had some reservations with some of its simplicity, but it more than compensates for these to make a strong whole.