Reviews

The opening shot of Rowan and the hawk on the edge of a huge overhanging rock creates a very striking opening image. Which is followed by a long flying shot of the bird that launches us straight into the vast scale of Hawk.

This visual awe resonates throughout the film. Every shot has a grand and dramatic feel, and each is beautifully constructed. The mountains of Snowdonia are the perfect location for a Middle Earth feel. The 'Antlered God' has strong vibes of the Faun from Pan's Labyrinth, especially during the forest scene when he appears before the young Rowan. It has a slow rumbling pace, for short film it carries a lot of weight and grandeur that sometimes has the feel of the bigger budget of a feature film.

The story isn't incredibly compelling, although it does have an original take on the fantasy genre, but I was more engaged with the visuals. The film makes great use of visual effects and CG that are never over emphasised and don't overpower the look of the film. The 'making of' production dairies available on Capture's youtube channel provide a great insight into the production of the film. The effects are sometimes quite subtle, I probably wouldn't have even noticed that some parts of the film used CG if it was not for watching several of these prior to the film, for the effects are so perfectly blended with the live action.

Hawk is a short film that aims high and thinks big.

The story of an alcohol heist in a retirement home seems like a good combination of genres, but this short film is more focused on mortality, cherishing life and relationships than the actual 'heist'. The film looks great, Capture manage to make a dreary retirement home very visually pleasing. A very shallow focus is used, so the background Christmas lights flare up to create great looking, crisp visuals.

For a 15 minute film its ending does pack a powerful emotional punch, which is only achieved through the effective build up of the main character Albie. To feel such emotion for characters you've only known for a few minutes is quite an achievement. There is also a great continuous ending shot.

The sense of 'action' needed to be stronger during the actual heist and it could have been given more time, however this is really only one element of the story. As a whole it all fits together as a perfectly short, beautifully told story.