A
man who survived a violent attack on his family will seek revenge largely
relying on his sense of smell. That will very likely be as problematic in
practice as it sounds. Indeed, the protagonist’s memories and perceptions are
all subject to question throughout Frank Ternier’s stylish but unsettling
animated short 8 Bullets (trailer here), which screens
during the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.
Gabriel
is a French expat living in Taipei. His backstory remains mysterious, but as we
learn from the disembodied bystanders, he was the victim of a red-headed gunman’s
vicious assault. Evidently, he wife was killed and his daughter was wounded in
the leg, but Gabriel somehow survived a shot to the head, or at least that is
the version he believes. Regardless, he has not been the same since that
fateful day.
For
the last six months, Gabriel has prowled the streets looking for a red-headed
gangster who smells of fried food. He carries an equalizer, fully loads with
said bullets for when he finds his prey. It is all very hardboiled, even though
Gabriel’s sanity is clearly rather tenuous.
Ternier’s
stylistic approach suggests the sort of films David Lynch makes are better
suited to animation rather than live action. Although Ternier tells a strictly
linear narrative, his visuals dramatically reflect the warped and unreliable
perspective of his protagonist. He also nicely expresses Gabriel’s sense of
otherness as a Frenchman in a foreign land.