As you know, ordinarily we write a brief review of the short movies that we’re lucky enough to gain access to. This week however, we have watched TWO movies – both by the same director. So to keep you on your toes we’re not going to write separate reviews of the horror shorts – we’re going to write a feature on Davide Melini!
Now some of you may already be aware of Davide and his career so far, particularly his first horror short – The Puzzle. But you may not be aware about his new short film The Sweet Hand of the White Rose. Either way we’ll tell you about both.
Davide Melini is an Italian filmmaker. To date he has made four short movies, as well as working as an assistant director in Rome. One notable movie he has collaborated in, is the Dario Argento flick Mother of Tears: The Third Mother. Now if you love Dario Argento’s movies, then chances are you will enjoy Melini’s as well.
So we’ll start with The Puzzle. And in a few words – It’s really quite good! Sure there are a few things that could have been improved upon (general editing, camera shots etc) but the concept is brilliant and it’s portrayed very well. The film is about a woman whose mooching son is becoming an annoyance in her life. The film starts with her standing up to him before sitting down to enjoy a puzzle. But as the movie goes on, things start to get a lot darker before reaching the truly satisfying ending.
The Puzzle is definitely a sign of good things to come from Melini. Although it’s a short of just 5 minutes, and shot in one day with a budget of 300 Euro, it has arrived at the finals of 16 international festivals (with the award as ’3rd Best Italian Film’ at the “Rome International Film Festival”). The short, that has been also broadcast on “Coming Soon Television” (Italy) and on “PTV Málaga” (Spain), till now received 51 great reviews around the world
Want to make up your own mind? Check it out
Okay so now you’ve got a better understanding of Davide Melini’s filmmaking style and his specialties. So why don’t we tell you a bit more about The Sweet Hand of the White Rose?
The movie follows two people involved in road accident. The driver of the car (Mark) is overwhelmed with grief following the death of the little girl he hit. He visits her grave, only to find that things are not what they seem. So far, the movie has won several awards and has been screened many countries (US, Spain, Italy, South Africa). Like “The Puzzle”, this one has been broadcast on “Coming Soon Television” (Italy) and on “PTV Málaga” (Spain) too.
Want to check it out? Feel free
As you can see, Melini is definitely going from strength to strength. If you disregard the poor voice-over, the movie is brilliant! Great plot, soundtrack and obviously a bigger budget than The Puzzle. His vivid ideas take creativity to a new level and it’ll be interesting to see what Melini can produce next.
If you want to read more about Davide Melini and his upcoming projects, as well as reviews and other info, visit his blog:
http://www.davidemelinidirector.blogspot.co.uk/
