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Film.com - Now here’s an interesting twist on the idea of when death “comes calling.”
“Minuto 200″ (“200 Minutes”) follows Miss Orfa (Mercedes Mendez), an elderly Colombian widow who receives a cellphone from her somewhat estranged son. The phone has 200 available minutes, which she can sell by running a sort of one-woman phone booth from the front window of her home.
Miss Orfa, however, is convinced that this cellphone is the symbol of her own mortality and that death will come for her once the last minute has been sold. This seems preposterous to her neighbor and would-be suitor, Mr. Teo (Jose Ruiz), but Miss Orfa is resolved to her fate and goes about her final hours letting various passers-by use the phone, claiming that the money she’s paid for the minutes will be used for her funeral.
“Minuto 200″ is a melancholy though quietly humorous existential drama from writer-director Frank Benitez. The tone is rather dream-like, making the deliberately paced tale play out like a contemporary fable filled with some rather gorgeous imagery, courtesy of director of photography Jorge Garcia.
Watch “Minuto 200″ below and vote for the film at the official site of the ShortList Film Festival, which showcases some of the best shorts from the festival circuit through Sept. 4.
