Reflective Encounters

“One of the best things about the medium of short film is that it can be used to do many things that feature films can’t. And one of these is jokes. You can’t spend 90 minutes trying to set up a single punchline, because even when armed with the best punchline in the world, you are going to lose your audience by the end. But a short film? It can be in and out. Set-up. Punchline. Roll credits.

While it would be unfair to label The Cook as a joke committed to the big screen, it’s still a perfect example of how you can use the short film form to get in and out whilst leaving an impression. Over a scant runtime of three minutes, the film subverts audience expectations as we quickly discover that everything is not what it seems to be. With some precise camerawork from director Vincent Bossel, The Cook is a wonderful example of setting up expectations versus the brunt of reality, and not just for the audience but also the film’s culinary protagonist.”

— Laurence Boyce