The Bloody Olive

We find ourselves in a film noir of sorts on Christmas Eve. Mylene and Werner are preparing their warm, cosy home for a intimate night in when the doorbell rings. They welcome in Werner's business partner Sam, who has come with a smile and a nice bottle of wine for them. However Sam also has another agenda and informs Werner that he has uncovered proof that he has been stealing from the company. With such a simple predicament, Werner acts quickly and shoots Sam dead on the spot; however, this is film noir, and nothing is ever that simple.

With short films you often find that the running time lends itself to one or two elements or only one joke played over a few times; and so it is with this film which essentially has the same joke over and over until the end. With some short films it doesn't work and even 5 minutes feels too long however here the joke gets better every time it is exaggerated and repeated. The noir setting really helps because it does feel quite authentic and convincing – perhaps making the joke seem funnier for at once being part of the genre setting but then also feeling so very out of place as well. The cast play it well and stay in character even as the film's twists and turns demand them to change their demeanour etc.

Overall the end result is a very funny short film that is silly yet great fun. I can't imagine that it would stand up to repeat viewings that well but I certainly enjoyed it and, far from being tired of the joke after the 5th or 6th time, I found myself laughing harder each time.