Mr. Bellpond (2013) User Reviews

An Excellent Film

[mathewmasongrover · 8/10 · 17 June 2019]

Although it has its flaws, this is an excellent short film.

I enjoyed many aspects of the film, especially the sets and costumes. Things felt lived-in and real while maintaining their comedic effect. Another great thing was the color palate; at the beginning of the film when Bellpond is happy and married, the colors are full of reds and golds while during the middle of the film when Bellpond is a hermit, the colors are gray and blue. The gold colors return at the end of the film when Bellpond regains hope... subtle, but appreciated. The film also incorporated animation in a charming way, and while it was a bit experimental and out there, it was nonetheless effective and enjoyable. Lastly, the narration and humor were great, and the acting was solid enough. Ultimately, it manages to sidestep most of the problems many short films have, making it all around professional looking and fun.

However, that's where my praise ends, because there are definitely things that could have been improved on. Firstly, the soundtrack was ok and fit the film well until the very end. The last song was out of place and off-putting. Also, the cinematography wasn't anything special, and some of it seemed a bit drawn out. There were a few shots that were incredibly over exposed even for the context. Lastly, the from a narrative standpoint, taking more time to introduce Yuridia more at the beginning of the film would have given the viewer more empathy for Bellpond and more happiness at his hope.

All around, though, it is an excellent short film and is definitely worth a watch especially because it is free on Youtube.

Would have worked better as a full drama

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 10 June 2015]

This is a 20-minute short movie written and directed by A. Todd Smith from 3 years ago. We follow the fate of a musician whose wife disappears. He goes into hiding for several decades and when he returns, he still gets a mysterious letter about his beloved's whereabouts. He is ordered to write a piece within a short period of time, if he wants to see her again. Actually, I quite liked the plot idea. I just wished they may have kept this short film at 10 minutes maybe and done without all the unnecessary parts. That includes all the forced unfunny comedy involving supporting characters. The focus should have been 100% on the title character. I am not too sure yet if I liked the lead actor's performance. I guess it was okay. Not outstanding, but not bad either. What I liked the most about the film was probably the narration. The narrator's voice fit the movie nicely and it's sad to see this was done in memoriam of him. Rip. What I did not really like apart from all the comedic aspects was the music. It was just not in tone with the film and especially the song during the closing credits was absolutely off the mark. This is a film about human tragedy. Why bring in something so light. So unfortunately, as a whole, I cannot recommend this short film because of the negative aspects which outweighed the positive ones.