GABRIEL: CANNES SHORT
The Awarding-Winning Haunting Mystery
Gabriel is a Cannes award-winning short film, following a boarding school student, who sells drugs to a classmate, gets in a fight and ends up lost in the woods. The story is a metaphor for being lost in life. The journey through the woods sends the young boy on a quest that leads him to the search for a missing classmate named Gabriel. We follow rescue parties and the police, but from a young boy’s perspective as he comes upon all the obstacles.
The story is a symbol of loss and anonymity. The protagonist feels it all through fights, isolation and neglect. The director of photography captures the action with a matte grey color palette and intimate shots that separate him from the people around him. Another example is when the boy traps and burns an insect that represents his feeling of entrapment.
The forest is also a vehicle for the character’s separation from society. At the start of the film, the boy gets beaten up and stolen from, then lost in the world that degrades him. He is also pushed around by society. He is honked at by a passing police car and told off for standing amid a crime scene. The protagonist feels like he is removed from life, while the missing Gabriel is the center of attention. Gabriel inspires cops, volunteers and other students to search for him. It creates a dichotomy between Gabriel and the protagonist. One is present and forgotten while the other is gone but clearly remembered.
Thomas Doret stars as the protagonist and Eliott Le Corre as his classmate. Gabriel is directed and written by Oren Gerner. Adi Mozes, the director of photography, channels emotions that convey the inner journey the adolescent takes. Why Not Productions and Mélissa Malinbaum are the production partners. PROVOKR loves this film and hopes you watch it as well.
