Review: Excursion To The Mountains

21st January 2018

Having previously reviewed several shorts from UK-based production company Chocolate Bear Films I was keen to check out their latest offering ‘Excursion To The Mountains‘ from writer/director Dermot Daly (Coda, Quality Time, Motherland’s Call), co-director/producer Ivan Mack and starring Emma Leah Golding & Ahmed Sher Zaman

“How can we hold on to the memory of someone without holding ourselves back?
This is a film about being brave enough to capture new memories without denying the pain of loss.”

For me, this short is an interesting (if brief) exploration into the fleeting nature of our memories and relationships as shown through the visual metaphor of fading photographs.

It is beautifully shot, acted and preserves a wonderful sense of melancholy throughout. Deliberately devoid of any dialogue there is a mix of ambient noise and scoring – the scoring is abrasive at one point when it comes in full pelt but I feel this is done for a dramatic and emotional effect. The film-makers intentions may not be clear at the start of the piece but they become clear by the end.

‘Chocolate Bear, in its present guise, exists to make short films. Short films that avoid cliches in exploring the human condition.

Financially, we aim to make good quality on a shoestring. If a story is written well it can be made for less as it’s the narrative that holds sway.

A good original story is priceless.

We’re always open to collaboration at a production level but will remain defiantly independent. In the long term we aim to make longer films which continue to explore ‘this mortal flesh’; but that’s then, and this is now.

As filmmaking is a balance between mimesis and diagesis let’s write no more and simply do.’

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