About – A duel between a woman and a man where the duel is somewhat the unordinary and the outcome more serious.

Director, Writer, Producer and Editor: Tomas Gold. This is his 5th short film ‘The Enigma Duel’. This has been sent off to different film festivals around the UK, ready for 2017.

‘The Enigma Duel’ is not your usual competition between two people. It is something that takes you away from reality in a dark comedic way, but hits home with a serious meaning behind its strange storytelling.

The duel is being told through the score and the visuals. It is something that is different but unique. We watch this duel through the eyes of the audience. By having no dialogue from the main characters the story is told by the ‘judge’ whom expresses his views onto these two characters. The main way this story is told to us is by the score, this is done by the fast pace and slow pace sounds. When something is happening on-screen, the score increases your viewing experience. This is helped by you wanting something to happen and the score enhances this feature.

The camera shots are very typical; however, this makes the short a more realistic viewing. If the angles were done in a more complex way, we would have a very different understanding. By having the shots as a side on point of view, it makes us feel like we are the audience of this unordinary duel. Alongside the use of close-ups for the reactions of the characters, this is done in a very professional way. By the actors not taking notice of the camera, this is not being used as a prop but to bring the audience into the film from the judges/audiences point of view. This shows the realism of the duel.

As this is only a 2-minute short film, this review is going to be short as well. With so much happening in such a short space of time, certain things must be under wraps to keep the spoilers from getting out. However, what can be said is that the short makes you wonder about the realistic way audiences watch duel-like situations, such as competition TV programmes. They have the unlikely person that gets far but who is the laughing stock just like the character within this short. You also feel something for the character that has been shown up compared to the character that deserves the win. This comparison with the short and the realistic undertone makes you wonder about this dark comedy. It helps that the short can relate to something realistic. Otherwise this dark comedy doesn’t work, within the meaning aspect and the undertone that us the viewer can relate to. The relationship between the audience and characters truly make that undertone meaning come alive.

Ultimately, ‘The Enigma Duel’ is a short film that sustains the dark comedy that it proceeds to be. It’s something that makes you think without meaning too. It also encourages us to view issues differently from how we normally do, by producing a rare point of view through this strange but comedic short.

Rating – 4/5 stars

For more information about Tomas Gold head over to his official page: http://www.tomasgoldfilmdirector.com/