STUCK | Omeleto

A musician gets an offer. Rai is a rock musician who loves to perform and tour with his band. But his dreams are curtailed when he undergoes an operation that saves his life but changes his routines permanently. Now Rai is withdrawn and unhappy. He's ready to give up on everything, but as he discovers, this is a time in his life when he needs the people and things he loves the most. Directed by Dan Abramovici from a script written by Dan Abramovici and Liam Gareau, this intimate short drama is a fascinating mix of a man's pensive reality and flashes of gritty yet glamorous music fantasy, all of which capture Rai's inner landscape after a life-changing operation. We open on some dark, stylized footage of Rai playing guitar, the sounds of his music and the show interrupted prematurely by a close-up of a more pensive Rai. This is Rai in the present tense, often shot in a more measured, naturalistic and sometimes poetic style, and as the storytelling reveals, he feels far from the eternal cool of rock 'n roll. When he gets a visit from his friend and former bandmate, Isla, their conversation reveals why Rai feels so far away from his dreams. Isla wants Rai to pick up his guitar again and join her onstage for a night, but their spiky dialogue reveals his reluctance and cageyness. The writing deftly gives us just enough to understand that Rai's been ill and missing in action for some time. But as Isla pushes Rai, not understanding the full picture, he lashes out. We discover Rai has had an operation that changed his life, and his new reality of its aftermath is far from the rock-star fantasy, a tension explored in a beautifully shot sequence that reads as both darkly stylish and nightmarishly surreal and reveals what Rai is concealing from Isla. As Rai, actor Michael Pillarella essentially conveys a man hiding, both from himself and the people who love him. He's defensive, angry and essentially grieving his previous self, who was free to pursue and aspire towards his personal North Star without major hangups. But actor Karen Knox plays Isla like a rock-star tour-de-force, a woman who can barrel into a room and get what she wants. She pulls Rai out of his isolation and also reveals a store of compassion in the form of a little tough love, reminding Rai of his passions -- and that others care about him and are ready to support him, no matter what. STUCK is a story of a musician whose idea of rock-star dreams must be reconciled with his lived experience, but it's also a powerful snapshot of those who live day-to-day with ostomy bags, a medical reality that is rarely portrayed in film. It focuses on the embarrassment and even shame some feel, even when it's hidden away, and how those difficult emotions can shake a sense of self and possibility. It also conveys the toll when we feel our most cherished dreams are out of reach, and how we slowly die inside without them. But it ends on a beautifully quiet, reflective note, accompanied by the sound of a guitar being strummed. Visually, the film finally leaves the confines of Rai's apartment, symbolizing how he himself is emerging back into the world -- ready to embrace what he loves once again. STUCK. Courtesy of Dan Abramovici at https://instagram.com/danabramovici.