The student produced short film shows a young teen, Tom, who has tries to escape from the dangers of a rough life by imagining he is an astronaut for NASA. In four minutes, we witness different aspects of Tom's life as he struggles to find himself while seeing and hearing about tragedies.
The film is deeply emotional, although the storyline isn't completely clear. It definitely conveys important details in the scenes we see. The cinematography is excellent, as is the audio. The close-ups of Tom floating in space make a huge impact, but also the shots of different cityscapes and Tom running on his own are also very moving. In addition, the outer space background is very cool and very realistic looking. David Bowie's song "Space Oddity" is featured and played throughout the entire film, except for one meaningful moment right before blackout at the end. Kudos to these student filmmakers for getting the rights to include this song as it really makes an impact; it enhances the story in every way. The most stunning visual effects are, of course, of Tom floating in space. The greenscreen work is almost seamless. Tom is played by Romeo Keyser and his subtle performances works perfectly for this role, setting a droll emotional tone for the film. My compliments to Kya Garner-Minnick for his direction, to the students of the Downtown Detroit Student Film Consortium for a superb screenplay, to Zachery Grew for the drone work and to everyone else that worked on it. It truly is a great group effort. I am so impressed with the work on these talented young people. I feel their pain and the desire to escape some of the horrors of contemporary urban life.
The message of the film is that we don't know what's going on in other people's lives. They could be struggling internally, as Tom is in this film. We should treasure the time we have with the people we love because anything could happen anytime. You should be aware that there are some scenes of implied acts of violence - a dead person, police officers shoving people - but, it's not bloody or gory.
I give Major Tom 4.5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 18, plus adults. It brings out a lot of emotion and reveals things that some people might not know is going on. By Kyla C. and Julie S., KIDS FIRST!
The student produced short film shows a young teen, Tom, who has tries to escape from the dangers of a rough life by imagining he is an astronaut for NASA. In four minutes, we witness different aspects of Tom's life as he struggles to find himself while seeing and hearing about tragedies.
The film is deeply emotional, although the storyline isn't completely clear. It definitely conveys important details in the scenes we see. The cinematography is excellent, as is the audio. The close-ups of Tom floating in space make a huge impact, but also the shots of different cityscapes and Tom running on his own are also very moving. In addition, the outer space background is very cool and very realistic looking. David Bowie's song "Space Oddity" is featured and played throughout the entire film, except for one meaningful moment right before blackout at the end. Kudos to these student filmmakers for getting the rights to include this song as it really makes an impact; it enhances the story in every way. The most stunning visual effects are, of course, of Tom floating in space. The greenscreen work is almost seamless. Tom is played by Romeo Keyser and his subtle performances works perfectly for this role, setting a droll emotional tone for the film. My compliments to Kya Garner-Minnick for his direction, to the students of the Downtown Detroit Student Film Consortium for a superb screenplay, to Zachery Grew for the drone work and to everyone else that worked on it. It truly is a great group effort. I am so impressed with the work on these talented young people. I feel their pain and the desire to escape some of the horrors of contemporary urban life.
The message of the film is that we don't know what's going on in other people's lives. They could be struggling internally, as Tom is in this film. We should treasure the time we have with the people we love because anything could happen anytime. You should be aware that there are some scenes of implied acts of violence - a dead person, police officers shoving people - but, it's not bloody or gory.
I give Major Tom 4.5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 18, plus adults. It brings out a lot of emotion and reveals things that some people might not know is going on. By Kyla C. and Julie S., KIDS FIRST!
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