After finding an incredible tree that grants wishes, an aging widower must decide between helping a poverty-stricken family or wishing for his deceased wife to return in the short drama The Wish.
Grief can hit us in a multitude of ways. The loss of loved ones can cause us to break down and never fully recover, or it can spare us on to make the most of life, knowing that the one life that you may have doesn’t last very long, and the clock is ticking. In The Wish, we are introduced to Arthur (Paul Brodie), an aging widower who mourns the loss of his beloved wife. We see him visiting her grave to leave flowers and a note that simply reads “Love Arthur”, and we see him remembering happy times during flashbacks.
One day, whilst tending to his garden, he spots a young boy called Noah (Ebrahim Joof) stealing an apple from his tree. Arthur gives chase but then stops when he sees Noah try and show the apple to his mother (Afton Ayache), who in turn isn’t happy with her son’s thievery, even though they have no food to eat.
Then, after visiting his late wife’s grave, Arthur is passed by ecstatic people holding bundles of cash money. One happy woman tells Arthur that the magic tree in the park has come to life and is granting everybody’s wishes should they pluck a leaf from it, but he is to be quick if he wants a wish granted, as the leaves have nearly all gone.
Arthur, thinking of his late wife, runs to the tree as fast as he can, but as soon as he gets there, he finds that one solitary leaf remains. He’s about to collect it, when he spots Noah, also eyeing up the leaf. In an act of selflessness, Arthur allows Noah to take the leaf, believing that Noah’s family needs their wishes granted more than he needs his wife back.
The short brings all the feels to the audience, and each viewer should go through a whole range of emotions, especially at seeing a man just longing to be reunited with the love of his life. Written and directed by Charlie Fiske, The Wish is a very well-shot film that lasts a little over eleven minutes in length, including the end credits. The cinematography by Kevin Turner is very well thought out and suits the subject matter to a tee; I especially liked the top-down shot of the wishing tree as locals are running to it, grabbing a leaf whilst they can.
Whilst the music of The Wish is nice, it does play throughout the short, and little dialogue is used – basically no dialogue, and instead, the story is played through its imagery and music. Some people may find that a little off-putting, but I for one didn’t mind it as much. The story is simple enough to follow with the small amount of dialogue offered.
Overall, The Wish is a sentimental short drama, wrapped around a high-concept idea. If you had the ability to have one wish granted, would you use it to help yourself or others? Very well-made, The Wish will likely do well on the festival circuit.
