Good morning, i hope you enjoy loud disturbing alarms! (review of Alarm)

personal screenshot gallery: Alarm screenshots

movie link: Alarm

     For the assignment of film reviews i've chosen to screen the animated film "Alarm". The short was uploaded in 2009 by korean animation team MESAI and artist Jang Moo Hyun. This film has been a hidden gem among independent animation projects and I am enthralled to be bringing this movie out of the shadows. The story brings in elements of a light and airy comedy that focuses on a young man's struggle to get ready for work in the morning. The synopsis follows as he is bombarded with cleverly planned alarm clocks that make his morning wake-up call a little bit more difficult than usual. Considering that there is no controversial or deep embedded theme under the story, this is simply one of those movies you gawk at for it's visual achievements and can empathize through the character's personal struggle. All of which I will be covering later on but allow me to point out a few more positive aspects about this film. 

    The use of establishing shots in the beginning of the film clearly represent the main dilemma and conflict through the story. As the camera zooms out into a long shot, light is found gleaming through a window. (2) Through the use of natural lighting from the sun it reveals the time being morning and is further iterated with a long shot of a brightly lit room as the main setting. (1)

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(2)

From there it goes into a closeup of an alarm specifically reaching 7:00 AM (a normal wake up time for the working class) and the man turning it off before the alarm goes off. (3)

(3)

     Another interesting quality of the film was the comedic foreshadowing often implied before a daring action. Take for example when the main character is about to return to sleeping after shooting the alarm, the room remains quiet and the only audible noise is the room tone (nondigetic). Suddenly a whooshing sound from the camera (offscreen sound) quickly juxtaposes frames of all the alarms that are about to go off. (4)
                                  (4)

  

And when all the sounds play together in a large medley of noise, the audience sees the impossibility of him being able to turn them off. To which they are quickly proven wrong, as he does the cliche throw the blanket in the air, do the action, and return to it before it falls on him entirely. A convention I've seen done in quite a lot of films. (5)

     

(5)

 Finally on a personal note, I've always been a fan of dialogue-less scenes that mainly depend on the actor's emotions and actions. The animation itself, although not including dialogue, still follows the normal contexts of any film because it encompasses close-ups, sound design, and the use of editing to manipulate the structure of the story. 

      However, to every effort there is always room for improvement. After watching it I was a bit confused on whom the protagonist's conflicting force was. At first I assumed it was man vs. object since he was desiring to sleep but the alarms kept him awake. Then when the story progressed it seemed to focus more on a single alarm clock ruining his life, so then I assumed the clock

had become an antagonist. Finally, I believed that the clock was actually a symbol representing a lack of time so all along the actor had been against the forces of nature. I know, entirely confusing and I'm most likely over thinking this but i feel if they narrowed on a single clock or brought in the other clocks at the end it would make more sense to me. It's obvious that there is struggle within the character, but the conflict itself is a bit puzzling. 
    There was another scene that I feel should've been left out entirely. Although it be funny, it didn't relate to the theme of alarms of clocks in any shape. When the protagonist opens the door he finds a glass milk resting on the floor a great distance away. He clings to the door and the camera pans along with him as he rides the door and retrieves the milk before jumping into his room. (6)

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 They could've made an easier connection to time by placing the milk in a fridge and a clock inside so once he opens it the clock rings. It would've been equally as funny, but it also led me to believe the director wanted to portray characteristics of the protagonist and his bold and irrational response to simple actions.

    Speaking of characters I want to bring up characterization. I really liked the protagonist and how everyone can relate to his laziness on a early morning. He is first portrayed as a half-awake and doldrom individual not wanting to wake up. Most of the entire film his face remains static and tired on purpose except whenever he sees his mortal enemy, the alarm clock. (7)

    

(7)

 What I truly loved about the construction of character is his response to normal situations. To turn off an alarm he aims a gun at it, to retrieve milk he becomes mission impossible spy and doesn't touch the floor, and most importantly he clever designed to have all the alarm clocks set around the room to wake him up. Although tired this reveals how clever he is and how he may not be so lazy after all. I especially like the shot-reverse-shot of him throwing the clock on the floor. At first we see a shattered clock with shards of glass everywhere, then a high angle of him looking down on the clock. (8)

     

(8)

By placing the camera at high angle it shows the frustration and animosity of the man towards the clock. Also another convention was the shadows underneath his hair covering his forehead, this is usually done to show a change of character or a sense of evil to a person. He eventually begins to go crazy and finds himself ringing like an alarm before a dramatic closeup/transition of him waking up for real. (9)

                                                                                       (9)

Overall, I truly enjoyed this film. It was a comedy that made me relate to the struggle of waking up in the morning. A mixture of action and moments that literally had me laughing I would recommend this movie for anyone just wanting to watch a good animated short. Hopefully in the future I won't be in need for 3,000 alarms but if i do I'll be sure to take a note from this movie and learn a thing or two on where to place them.