Surprise! (1995) Reviews

• A True Surprise

  Tikanjiah2006-10-28

  This witty little film was very, very well done. At first, I didn't like the visuals - it's a little off-color and grainy. A fine touch for the art fan I suppose. But the story and the delivery makes this an incredible journey - even if it lasts only a few minutes. The actors are very good at moving the story forward in so little time. You kinda feel like making this film was very fun experience. If you get a chance to catch this little movie, it's worth a look. In the end you really do get a surprise. (I wish there wasn't this minimum 10 lines of text - otherwise, this sentence wouldn't be here).

• Chain reaction

  Horst_In_Translation2016-07-22

  "Surprise!" is a 5.5-minute short film from Germany that had its 20th anniversary last year. It is an early career effort by writer and director Veit Helmer and lead actor Max Tidof may also be known to some, the female actress probably not. If you don't speak German, no problem as there is no dialogue in here. A man creates a most unusual chain reaction here for his girlfriend in the morning. I wondered throughout the entire film if he wants to kill her or is just a perfect gentleman? Something in between as we find out at the end. Anyway, chain reactions have been a popular subject for short films on many occasions and I cannot really see how this one would stand out compared to others. Obviously, awards bodies everywhere really loved it, but for me it was just not memorable at all. I give it a thumbs-down and don't recommend the watch.