Experience The World-The Train
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Directed by Duro Howard Jr. | Reviewed by Samiksha Periwal
As Tony Robbins very correctly said ‘the only impossible journey is the one you never begin’, and ‘Experience the World’ is also about an unexpectedly absurd journey which the protagonist takes to an unknown place full of happenings that make no sense and have absolutely preposterous people in it. It describes the everyday activities of a commuter and follows you through a train home at rush-hour until there’s a major twist in the story which adds drama to this ‘just another train journey’. This cosmic horror story is a completely animated picture with a lot of color and appealing visuals to keep you hooked on to your screens. It is a very interesting take on the usual concept of having an everyday journey in a train. Something that the common man would relate to. It is a short film with lots of elements involved in the process of the journey that the guy is on which you need to watch to find out for yourself.
The combination of sci-fi, elements of horror and fantasy together in this film make it a unique and gripping. The story is set in Chicago which starts off by simply showing a regular journey of a man in one of the usual red line trains. A random co-travel passenger warns the guy about not taking this particularly train which has made people disappear in the past. Even though this does create a sort of fear in the mind of the main character he somehow ends up going on that very train. From then on the film takes an unexpected turn bringing in elements of horror, creating curiosity and anxiety at the same time. The animations and overall visuals of the film are absolutely amazing. The director has given due credits to Brad Pike who has contributed greatly in the creation of this particular project. His collaboration and visions have definitely had a positive impact on the making and execution of the narrative. Moreover, the faces of all the characters are created in such a way that they appear to be ‘common man’ characters. Therefore, it adds to the authenticity and realism in the story. The correct timing of sound effects and expressions in the film are also a highlight from a viewer’s perspective. While this film might seem pretty pointless and non-sensical at times, yet it has a very concrete storyline to keep it together. The escalation of different emotions of fear, thrill and anxiety take place in very random and unexpected situations leaving the viewers absolutely confused as to where the story would progress. However, the imagination of the creators is definitely out of the box and the content too is unconventional which makes their work worth a watch. Moreover, it is a fun escape from along boring day which you might have had coincidentally while commuting in train on your way back home.
The debutant director of this film is primarily an animator and has created all animations for this work. He is the creative director and lead animator at Tiny Wolf, which is a small animation studio co-founded by him. He feels that his first experience at film making was ‘dope’ and he enjoys creating weird characters in weird situation. His main mission as suggested by him is to ‘create dope art with dope people’. The concepts of fantasy, absurdity, sci-fi, horror and so on are of special interest to him. Overall, this six-minute short film is very entertaining and presents a very different take on looking at a usual train journey. The life of an everyday passenger has been escalated to a whole new adventure which may practically make no sense but does present an alternative reality situation and keeps you engaged throughout with further absurdities in the story. For light-hearted yet fun content you should definitely give this one a watch and expect to be amused at the end of it.
Samiksha Periwal is an 20 year old student from Kolkata, West Bengal. She is an enthusiast, eager to learn and explore. She has done her schooling from Lakshmipat Singhania Academy, Kolkata and is currently a student of Christ University, Bangalore pursuing a triple major in BA Psychology, Sociology and English. She is a passionate writer and has won many laurels for her school through the years.
