Animals have always had a special status in cinema, often being portrayed as soulmates or as guardian angels of people facing an existential crisis. The short film ‘Project Bau‘ is no exception to this rule, but the story it proposes is far from leaving us indifferent. Sajan Jose is a director for whom it is not necessarily the consistency of the narrative that is the main element, but the intensity of the emotions that the camera can capture. This project focused on the emotional symbiosis between a man and a dog should not be perceived in the parameters of terms such as predictable or unpredictable, since its narrative thread is not external, manifested entirely in the action itself. Still, it’s rather an interior one, an inner journey of self-discovery. In this sense, the director doesn’t want at all costs to keep his viewer breathless, but to plunge into the mental and sensory universe of a man unable to overcome, on the one hand, the burden of loneliness and abandonment, and, on the other hand, the alcohol addiction.
Basically, the creator of this project makes a rather difficult bet when he wants to build a short film with a single character. Fortunately, the result is more than satisfactory, and this happens thanks to the extremely convincing actor, but also thanks to the brilliantly crafted cinematographic material. Moreover, the special aura of this short film is given by the director’s choice not to use dialogue at all (with small insignificant exceptions), encouraging the main actor to access a more subtle way of expressing his own emotions. Silence and music are professionally manipulated by Sajan Jose, avoiding the danger of a cheesy melodramatic tone that would have compromised this special chemistry between a man and a dog perceived as a kind of embodiment of the human soul’s natural extension. We do not know if the current context really inspired the director in portraying this man in the struggle with his own loneliness. Similarly, we do not know if the director’s intention was to create a metaphor or a project as realistic as possible. All we know is that ‘Project Bau’ is an emotional and well-executed cinematic experience that, despite its apparent monotony, masterfully shows a tormented soul who has found a way to see the light.
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