All alone with nowhere to go and nothing to do except to watch the four television screens in front of him. That is all that Lance (Aiden Dalton) has to do at the present moment. Risorgimento finds Lance just as he wakes up in what appears to be an abandoned building; he then quickly determines that he must find a way out. With seemingly no way of escape and no answers, Lance is now at the mercy of his captors and the television screens. As they play scenes from his life, his world, and his psyche, are shaken, forcing him to ask himself, “Why?”
Risorgimento is defined as: any period or instance of rebirth or renewed activity; resurgence. Trace Walker’s title is quickly understood and audiences are gifted a brief, but clear, understanding of what to expect from the future of the film. I often say that short films, due to their length, are unable to develop characters and stories in the way that feature-length films are able to, and that due to this, they must find ways to relay a message of some significance to their audience. I have found in my travels that short films created for the sense of ridiculous comedy and/or just the sake of being made are unappealing and that developing an underlying story or metaphor is nearly essential to the success of these films. This is not the case with Walker’s Risorgimento. Trace Walker, with the help of his talented crew, quickly enlightens audiences (thanks to his title) and allows them to see that, by the end of the film, they will have come to understand some important messages. Walker delivers on his promise! While there are a series of somewhat cryptic scenes from Lance’s life played over and over in front him, and this leads to speculation about what is potentially taking place, one thing is clear: Lance has not lived life to the fullest. Lance is an everyman of sorts and provides audiences with the message that you can always do better, don’t take things for granted and be good to others and yourself. Condensed into around just eight minutes, these messages flood the audiences’ minds and force them to consider their own lives and what they can do better.
I imagine that not having the ability to temporarily close off streets and buildings, but still having the need to find the perfect place to shoot is incredibly difficult. Walker, however, finds the perfect place to house his film and Lance as he struggles to find his way. The building appears ransacked and bare to the bone, parallelling what Lance is experiencing as he relives moments of his underwhelming life. The setting is as important as the acting and the direction, and Walker is able to bring Risorgimento to life by choosing an appropriate location to film.
For such a young filmmaker, I believe finding the correct ways to bring your story to life is arduous, but Walker finds a way to make Risorgimento work. The settings are beautifully chosen, the camerawork captures the mood and the tone of the film and Walker’s content is important and transcends generations of viewers. Walker has all the makings of a successful writer/director. If he sticks to his version of storytelling I believe the sky's the limit.
Click on the picture above to view Trace Walker's Risorgimento.
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