Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
A broke man hassles customers at a bar for a free beer until the owner agrees to hold a singing contest for 100 dollars and a beer in ‘The Singers’, a short film by Sam A. Davis.
Based on a short story by Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev, ‘The Singers’ features a diverse cast discovered through viral music videos and street performances. Only about 18 minutes long, the film is set in a dimly lit bar, which is packed with patrons that either seem exhausted or down in the dumps.
The opening minute of ‘The Singers’ is comedic, with a creepy fish belting out songs, making the frame look like it’s out of a stop-motion animation film. The next few minutes are chaotic, with the camera following multiple mundane bar conversations, from bad jokes, to two men seriously discussing their war experiences.
“For an 18 minute minute film, the build-up is slow and annoying,” I remarked to an aunt who was watching the short film with me.
But once the men begin taking turns to win the hundred dollars and free beer on offer, the story blossoms into a joyous celebration of music and shared emotion. At first glance, the bar’s rough-edged patrons seem the last people you’d expect to harbour any real creative spark, let alone voices powerful enough to stir the soul and unite a roomful of strangers.
In doing so, the film quietly conveys (or loudly considering all the singing) that appearances can be deceiving, and that beneath the most unassuming exteriors often lie extraordinary depths.
‘The Singers’ thus evolves from a simple, rugged bar tale of a drunk angling for his next free beer into a memorable little film about the many multitudes hidden within a single person. The music is great, and includes a few tracks that viewers would be able to identify right away and maybe want to sing along too.
The ending is abrupt, almost comical, and this could’ve honestly been one song longer, just one song!
Watch ‘The Singers’ on Netflix.
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