The stories of unknown people are always fascinating for us, since the contexts we are confronted with can completely change the perception of our life. ‘Where There Is Too Much Light‘ is an intelligent short film that materializes a scenario of this uncontrollable fascination, questioning an unexpected encounter between two lonely people to whom life was not as tender as they expected. Thus, one of the main themes approached by director Lorenzo Mannino is the decisive impact of the hazard that shapes our own destiny, orchestrating an intense visual experience with a magnetic chromatic and soundtrack recalling sometimes Gaspar Noé’s projects. However, unlike the Argentine filmmaker’s creations, Lorenzo Mannino never gets into the area of abyssal violence, even if the techniques used promise such an emotional and visceral explosion. Therefore, this short film is a remarkable example of a cinematic exercise that deceives viewers’ expectations, even if the director strategically places some clues that seem to anticipate a bloody outburst of animal pulses that can continue behind the scenes after the movie is over.
Despite the relatively banal premise, this short film succeeds in avoiding the predictable patterns of an apparently ingenuous social interaction with which the project starts. Nicola, a lonely man and a former photographer with a violent life experience, is picked up in a Milan club by Francesca, an aspiring actress who, despite compromises made, has not reached the desired social status and celebrity. From the encounter of these unfulfilled destinies, the beginning of an emotional relationship seems to come true, but the abrupt finale removes the conventional epic domino, attacking in the subtext the dark desires of individuals who will never dominate their violent instincts.
It is strange how a short film based on such a simple script hides in fact so many interpretations. Nicola and Francesca apparently tick the recognizable patterns of future lovers, but the director prefers to adopt a somewhat mystical interpretation, suggesting the emotional incompatibility between the two by disturbing the man’s imagination with violent sequences materializing his possible future. However, this interpretative ambiguity is also the great advantage of the script that, with the help of magnetic and sometimes strident colours and sounds, defines an unconventional storyline and two memorable characters. Even though director Lorenzo Mannino gives the impression that he describes in his project just the fascinating aura of a certain indoor space that privileges more or less happy encounters, the club becoming a „topos” of crossed destinies, ‘Where There Is Too Much Light’ can also be perceived in a complementary perspective that has enough potential to become an exceptional feature.
