The Typist, a delightful new short directed by independent filmmaker Abraham Heisler, has emerged from the typing pool! "The Typist" follows a dated young man through a single day's journey, and, ultimately, his self-discovery. Accompanied by his beloved Royal Typewriter, our bow tied wearing friend floats adrift in a sea of gadget-using enthusiasts. The film explores this nostalgic man's inability to connect with those of his technologically savvy generation. The Typist humorously captures the plight of many nostalgics longing for the bygone days before Skype and Twitter, when poems were scribed by hand, letters typed on a clickety-clack typewriter, and Apples simply kept the doctor away.
Exquisitely shot, featuring bold shades of blue, yellow and green in nearly every frame, The Typist strongly resembles the whimsical films of Pixar. Aside from one exclamation, The Typist is a silent film, relying on expressive visuals, a splendid score, and charming actors to show (rather than tell) a story.
Despite its minimal running time (slightly under ten minutes), the film brims with bravura shots and sequences. One particularly lovely moment occurs when our lonely friend gazes outside his window to see happy couples walking past his home. In a brilliant downward pedestal shot, complemented by Goodbye Kumiko's "Bicycle Waltz," the camera follows the length of a dangling strand of leaves while capturing our forlorn friend.
In one memorable scene, our friend enters a café filled with technophile enthusiasts. The sounds of their modern gadgets form an alien, futuristic melody. Everyone stops and stares at his outdated suit and clunky typewriter. A young woman points to a sign posted on the door of the café indicating no typewriters allowed.
The Typist is chock-full of clever and humorous moments and provides for intellectual dialogue on the use (and possible overuse) of social media and gadgetry. I highly recommend jumping into the typing pool and catching Heisler's latest short, The Typist.
Abraham Heisler, a native New Yorker, is currently teaching film at the New York Film Academy in Florence, Italy. His previous film Danny and the Ocean premiered at the Los Angeles International Children's Film Festival. Heisler has worked with AMURT, an international disaster relief and community development NGO, producing a documentary which won the people's choice award in the Explore Hatch online film festival. He currently resides in San Francisco.
Check out the film's campaign at: www.pozible.com/thetypist
And check out Abraham Heisler's website at: www.abrahamheisler.com