When a mans love drives him to extraordinary accomplishments, will he have the strength to let go when the time comes?

For this week’s featured short we are going with something a little different. We have our first science fiction feature, mixed with some particular romance. Power Up takes place in the future, where technology permits us to use Artificial Intelligence to revive the ones we love.

This film is filled with an emotional subject from beginning to end, touching hope, perseverance, abomination and dealing with the notion of being able to let go when the time comes. The sad story makes you feel for both the husband and cyborg-like wife, when she discovers her inability to die, after continuously getting revived.

To accompany the deep story is the short film’s most notable feature; The visuals. Dan Scott and his team put together some wonderful shots, with the photography setting highly emotional mood with its rusty golden glow throughout. Although the film takes place in the future, the decor and costumes seem to be fashioned from the renaissance era, which is a high contrast to what we are used to seeing in futuristic films overwhelmed with high-tech glowing armored suits, gadgets,robots and flying cars. The contrast is also helps us detach us from the technological side of it and sinks us deeper into the emotional content of the story. This being said, there still is a techy side to the film and it was neatly visualized by the graphic team. Not too much going on with flashing numbers and extruding lines, they did just enough with the visuals and human interactions with the technology to make us aware that we are in the future.

A small set back to the film in my opinion is the pace. I understand the need to have the slow pace which works well with the storyline, but the shots tempt to extend a little longer than they should. The short could of had a bit more punch if the scenes were tightened a few seconds each to not get the prolonging feeling. The same extended feeling starts to make a good soundtrack sound repetitive towards the end.

But in the end the movie earns its richness from the strong visuals and profound and touching storyline and should be appreciated that way. ‘Power Up’ gives us a different look at the future and its emotional confrontations.