Evil’s origins hit close to home.
Every monster has a mother. Every act of violence that has ever been perpetrated by one human being upon another or others — every single one, minor or major — has been done so by the son or daughter of someone, to the son or daughter of someone else. And in the eyes of a mother, our faults are opportunities, our flaws are our uniquity, and our damage is never our responsibility, it is the result of a world that doesn’t understand us.
This is the narrative perspective that launches The Sunshine Boy, a three-minute, rotoscope-animated short film from writer/director Naaman Azhari. Inspired by real and all too-common events, the film consists of a mother’s voiceover about her artistic, sensitive, and perhaps misunderstood son, a high school student. As she dotes on his distinctions, we see his side of these emotions and the horror they unleash.
The Sunshine Boy isn’t the most novel narrative out there, but it’s not supposed to be, part of its point is how frighteningly regular such depicted events are. What is unique and captivating about the film is its perspective, one that shows us how a mother’s love is unwavering, but also blinding.
Source: Short of the Week
Related Topics: Animation, Short Films
