The economy of Kosai Sekine‘s short is pretty impressive, with every shot contributing towards the overall theme, including the title animation. It wastes absolutely no time in establishing its character’s personality with quick shots that let us know everything we need to know. It uses established visual cues, such as him going against the tide on the escalator, to inform us about him, but doesn’t linger long enough either for the short to drag, or for us to really have the time to think about how we have seen that device a million times before. It is perhaps the tightly controlled focus of this short that makes it so impressive.
One of its other most notable elements is the sound design. The use of music is very well matched to the story, and in fact functions as a key part of the narrative. It strongly places us within the protagonist’s mindset, in many respects taking the place that dialogue or voiceover would normally hold, which only further enhances the film’s clean and crisp style. When we do finally get some dialogue it’s almost disappointing at first because of how well the film was managing without it, however upon reflection, it is needed at precisely the moment in which it is used, in order to quickly further the story, rather than by taking longer to explain the character’s thought process visually.
All in all Right Place is an extremely well made short. It’s sharply written and directed, has a great sense of style, tells a simple story effectively, and isn’t afraid to use humour to advance the story. It’s a great example of what short films can be, and one which we hope you enjoy watching!
