WHEN THOUGHTS STICK TO YOUR MIND BY FELLA CEDERBAUM
Directed by Fella Cederbaum/ Reviewed by Antonio Rozich
It is usually quite transparent what we talk about when we talk about movies. It’s an audio meets video medium we use to tell stories of a hero fighting evil or great success. We use the medium to entertain, make people laugh or cry. A movie being a literary medium is an almost automated thought, meaning, we inheritably tie one to the other. But a movie can be much more than this, meaning, it can be many different things. A movie doesn’t have to tell a story of an unlikely hero slaying a dragon and saving the world. A movie doesn’t have to tell a story at all. Instead, it can simply be a message and When Thoughts Stick to Your Mind by Fella Cederbaum is exactly that.
Made as a simple yet stunning mix where poetry and visuals meet, the movie is simple, yet important message to each one of us. Instead of describing a specific situation or a topic, the movie talks about something that resides in all of us – our inherit will to exist and be alive.
Where the short film truly shines is the poetry. Each word is perfectly placed and sounds as if it was created to be there. Simple yet well timed rhymes aren’t forced. Instead they flow freely as they spill over one to another. The visuals are more like a well-designed backdrop for the real main character or the actor in this piece of art – the poetry.
The simple AAB rhyme creates a gentle yet steady balance allowing the movie to have a steady flow. In a way, it is both predictable but also surprising with each next line. You do know what to expect rhythmically, but you get surprised with each new verse. Each new phrase is a small surprise wrapped into the wonder of how the rhyme makes perfect sense yet until it got spoken, it would never cross your mind. 
And that’s likely how a great poet is recognized; when his or her words sound so clear, familiar and obvious. But until they are spoken, it feels as if there’s nothing there.
It becomes even more enjoyable and respect-worthy if you try to come up with a single verse that could follow the one you just heard. It’s incredibly difficult and although the right word might come to your mind, creating a whole verse falls in a completely different ballpark.
As far as the visual part of the movie, honestly, there’s nothing much to say. It’s clear what Cederbaum’s intension was with When Thoughts Stick to Your Mind. It wasn’t to express her through the visuals, but rather through poetry. As already stated, the visuals are nothing but a vessel for the poetry, like a well-placed image you’d find in a poetry book.
With that said, this short 6-minute piece of art isn’t for everybody. Some people will find it boring, others will find it meaningless. But if you give it a chance, you’ll find something you’re awfully familiar with - something that resides inside you, just like it resides inside everyone else. The wonder of why the world is the way it is. And maybe even, why are you the way you are?
The likely reason why some part of the audience won’t enjoy is likely because what was said in the beginning. It’s unconventional, something you don’t expect when you agree to watch a movie – no matter if it’s 5 minutes or a full, 90-minute feature movie. But maybe that’s exactly why you should watch it; to exit your “cinematic” comfort zone. 
Not necessarily to force yourself into liking this particular short film, but to realize there’s more to cinema and art in general than what you know. And if that happens, then this movie has successfully done its part.
5 minutes out of your life isn’t much. But if everything is right, these 5 minutes can do wonders. AS you wonder what to watch next and you feel like hitting your head against a rock-solid wall, give When Thoughts Stick to Your Mind. It might surprise you and make you see the cinema from a different, new angle.
