Ashes To Ashes

Though the main focus of the Cannes Film Festival is on feature-length films, it would not be right to ignore the short films that are screened within the Short Film Corner. Some films that I have seen have been decent at best in terms of production value and story, so like many others; I found it easier to ignore the short films. But one that stuck out to me was a film called Ashes to Ashes: A Batman Fan Film. Now, the main reason that it stuck out to me was due to the fact that it was portraying my favorite superhero and I was admittedly excited to see a French director’s rendition of the caped-crusader. So being a Batman fan, I only felt right to comment on this Batman fan film.
To start, the storyline, as it is summarized in its description, was set in 1938 during a depression in Gotham City. Eddy, Charles and Sergio, three petty criminals, decide to break into the mansion that overhangs their city to steal whatever may be valuable. Upon breaking in, they stumble upon Alfred the Butler who, realizing their motives, tries to stop them from stealing from the Manor. As a result, he is stabbed by one of the men and left to die as they run off into the night. A scream of agony is heard when Bruce Wayne finds his butler dead on the floor. The result is a hunt for the criminals that murdered his friend.
The film’s style is an explicit reference to that of Frank Miller. The same colors and negatives are used to create a dark picture of Gotham and the characters themselves. The city sky is bright red and blinding white lights seem to engulf every scene, creating deep shadows. As a result, there is a comic book, Film Noir feel to the production as a whole. Which, in a certain manner, achieves the look that the directors Julien Mokrani and Samuel Bodin seek to create. In terms of effectiveness, I believe that although the style is not original, the use of it for a Batman mini-film works well. The most powerful shot to me was of Batman’s ominous figure overshadowing everything in a cathedral. It created a cool darkness for Batman, looming over the criminal like the angel of Death.
But where some shots worked really well for the film, others tended to go too far with the use of negatives and overexposure. I know the overexposure was done in post editing to create the luminous feel to the film, but it makes the film look a bit too grainy. Some of the shots were really great, but the glittering lights diminished the composition of the frame. It would have been beneficial to keep that Film Noir look with deep shadow and harsh light, without going overboard.
In terms of the literature behind Batman, the film plays off of a more recent interpretation of the Dark Knight as a more sinister character who is trying to find a balance between justice and revenge. Thus, when the film depicts Batman choking a criminal in a cathedral, though not canon literature, the interpretation can still be considered valid.
The film watches much like a comic book would read. There is an omniscient narrator who tells the story of these three criminals as each one is taken out by either Batman or one of Batman’s arch nemeses. There is a bit of weakness in having this narration because it seeks to try and make everything dark and deep. But the narrator’s lines come off a bit too over inflated with unnecessary comparisons like, “Guilt is like a bad diarrhea.” I couldn’t help but laugh hysterically.
The scenes themselves do not edit together perfectly, which is also reminiscent of comic book story frames. Each miniature scene goes in a logical order, but without the context of the narrator, you wouldn’t be able to follow the narrative. That being said, I did like the way that the editors jumped from character to character. Each character is revealed at the expense of another. For example, in the end, the Joker has kidnapped and tortured one of the three criminals in an effort to lure Batman into a trap. This instance is the first time that we see the Joker and it shifts our attention from Eddy, who is near death.
But I was also a bit confused by the narrative once I got past a certain point in the film. I understood why Batman was hunting the men down, but I did not get why the Joker showed up for any reason. The Joker talks about how he wants Batman’s attention because he likes “playing” with him. But the was never any real stake that this foe had in the killing of Alfred or in dealing with Batman for this film. I felt like the goal was to get some type of enemy from the actual Batman series into the film in order to maintain an actual Batman story. But this addition wasn’t put into the film with the most fluid transition.
I would like to point out, however, that despite some of these narrative issues, it was not at all like the film didn’t make sense. It made a great deal of sense and I was able to follow it for the most part from beginning to end. I could tell who was who and identify certain characters based upon character traits set up by the writers and directors. This aspect is truly awesome for a film that was a little shorter than a half-hour. I was also really impressed by two directors overall, because the production value was so high. It was ten times better than some of the stuff that I saw in the Short Film corner. But most of all, the best part about this film was that it was entertaining. I went away from the film a bit excited. For a fan fiction film it did a great job at portraying Batman and I felt that if given the chance, these two men have a lot of potential to make some other great shorts. I would recommend at least checking it out if anyone gets the chance to see it on their website or in the Short Film Corner.

Credits
Run Time: 23 minutes
Director: Julien Mokrani, Samuel Bodin
Producer: Samuel Bodin
Writer: Samuel Bodin
Cast: Julien Honore, Arnaud Bichon, Bylvain Elie
Gargoyle Films
Ashes to Ashes is a non-profit film being made for private use, and is not intended for sales. BATMAN copyright DC Comics Warner Bros, All Rights Reserved
Check out Ashes to Ashes at www.ASHESTOASHES-THEMOVIE.com