Alpaca in the Closet

Written & Directed By: Silke Stahr
Producer: Simon Carruthers
Cinematography & Editing: Xavier Maire
Production Design: Marion Vegas
Starring: Simon Carruthers, Marion Vegas

Made in Wellington New Zealand as part of 48 Hours 2022

I enjoyed this one, of all the comedy of errors films I've seen I think this one pulls it off the best. It doesn't feel like you are making the characters fumble around just for the sake of the genre. I think the sort of live-action "inside out" element works reasonably well also. The punchline at the end is a bit iffy but it also works I think.

A charming little film that uses the "Comedy of errors" genre to give us some awkward humor through a series of all-too-relatable dinner date errors. I thought the leads were both lovely and did a good job of making us like them and want them to end up happy.

The concept itself was clever, and great sized "slice of life" for a short film. Technically it was well put together, with solid camera work, good editing, lighting, and sound.

In terms of the story, I like that the twist was that she was also awkward, and so they discovered their match, but I wonder if the payoff might have been bigger if we'd learned a little more about her during his bumbling? This is just me wondering, and the story structure works as is!

But y'know, possibly like some back and forth showing the date not going too well from both of them, and we think it's just that they're super incompatible, or bad at this, before their inn inner tickings are revealed, possibly through a mutual error? Just thoughts that came to mind while watching :)

Anyway, this was a really enjoyable watch, so well done on your film! Looking forward to seeing your next effort :)