Lucy
2020 · 22m · USA
Directed by Mojean Aria
Genres: drama
Tones: contemplative, melancholic, tender
A lonely, gruff electric scooter collector in Los Angeles discovers an abandoned dog tied to a fence, and the unexpected bond that forms upends his isolated routine. A quiet two-hander about loneliness, kindness, and how connection sneaks up on people who have stopped expecting it.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Everyone's going to call this a heartwarming indie redemption story, which is exactly why it's boring—a lonely man + stray dog is the most consensus-friendly premise imaginable, and Aria doesn't have nearly enough subversive bite to make me care that he dressed it up in scooter-charger aesthetics.
Aria demonstrates considerable formal control in transforming gig-economy mundanity into a vehicle for intimate character study; the film inherits from a lineage of slow cinema that finds profundity in repetition and understated gesture, though whether that restraint earns its emotional payoff remains debatable.
The decision to make the scooter-charging routine—the actual mechanical, repetitive labor—the emotional spine rather than mere backdrop is what works here; that commitment to letting small, unglamorous work carry the film's entire weight of loneliness is the choice that makes it breathe.
Reviews
It's masterful storytelling by Mojean Aria that perfectly exploits the power of short films.
The ending hits you out of nowhere.
Festivals
- Academy Award Qualifying Festival Circuit 2020, Audience, Grand Jury, and Best Director awards across multiple festivals