IMPASSE

December 11, 2008 1:46 AM

Bram Schouw's short IMPASSE

A human rights story produced by Art for the World for the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with the support of the European Union and other donors.

In images.

..and posted a day late : )

posted by pwedza (8 comments total)

...wait for it, wait for it... (don't look at the 'images' link they messed up the order) ... and there you go.

Caught me completely by surprise. Great short.
posted by From Bklyn at 2:05 AM on December 11, 2008

Weird. I saw it coming, but thought it would come out in more of a confrontation.

But i liked the subtle reveal much better.
posted by Lacking Subtlety at 12:17 PM on December 11, 2008

note: saw it coming because of his shaved head.
posted by Lacking Subtlety at 12:18 PM on December 11, 2008

Weird. I saw it coming, but thought it would come out in more of a confrontation.

I'm not sure if the lack of confrontation was a comment on the cowardice of bigots only confronting those they outnumber, or the idea of bigotry being a disingenious stance which is only expressed to satisfy a need for violence. Alternatively, I didn't get it at all.
posted by BrotherCaine at 3:14 AM on December 12, 2008

Not to belabor the obvious, but it is called "Impasse."

I thought the ambiguity of it was its greatest strength. Until the 'reveal' it was one kind of story, after the reveal everything (but everything) about the interaction is called into question and possibly recontextualized in any of a number of feasible ways.
posted by From Bklyn at 5:23 AM on December 12, 2008

And I'm kind of mystified by the silence towards it here. It seems there are a couple fruitful avenues of discussion: not least the 'subject' of the short, but also the question of how the two are portrayed and how we are 'fooled' in order to make a point.
posted by From Bklyn at 5:27 AM on December 12, 2008

I thought the lack of confrontation was about how a commitment to racism affects the simplest of human interactions, but doesn't actually change anything. Plus the guy has a very striking face. I like the low-keyness and the directness of it.

It reminds me of these lines from Wings of Desire:

The German people are divided into as many states as there are individuals.
And these small states are mobile.
Each one takes his own with him... and demands a toll when another wants to enter.
ln the form of a fly in amber or a leather bottle.
So much for the border.
But one can only enter each state with the right passwords.
Today's German soul can only be conquered and governed...
by he who arrives at each small state with the password.


Fortunately, no one is now able to do so.
posted by sneebler at 11:27 AM on December 12, 2008

maybe there's some bit about the hypocrisy about being politically and socially against an entire people (to put it simply) and at the same time being sexually attracted to a member of that group. But there's a lot of different ways you can take it. I like it.
posted by Lacking Subtlety at 12:27 PM on December 12, 2008