Reviews of Aspen Shortsfest: Choque

Kim Adelman,the author of "The Ultimate Filmmaker's Guide to Short Films" reviews the funniest shorts at the recent (April 5) Aspen Shortsfest over at Indie Wire's new Shorts section. The best shorts inevitably make the round of festivals internationlly and many are now available online, a great boon to the short film fan or short filmmaker. Filmmakers could certainly learn a few things from the elegant, action-oriented structure of "Choque."

Adelman's list of the funniest shorts at Aspen includes "Choque," (Crash)by Spanish director Nacho Vigalondo, who was nominated for an Oscar for his last short film, ""7:35 in the Morning."

I didn't find it particularly funny. It's a bumper-car version of Latin machismo carried to extremes and the title is certainly apt. Here's a bit of bumper car inside info (I used to run the bumper car ride at an amusement park summers as a teenager) - there's only one front wheel and it goes in one direction, so you turn it completely around once to reverse direction. Which is why so many people, like the hero of Choque, get stuck in corners). The hero of Choque certainly gets turned around in more ways than one in this 10 minute 2005 short. His gorgeous date becomes the target of a group of young punks, evoking his ire (and idiocy). It's well shot, moves fast and has a clearly defined beginning, middle and end. In fact, the funniest and most defining line in the film is the last one. You can watch it for yourself (ain't the Interet wonderful?) here:
CHOQUE