Smog
2022 · 10m · USA
Directed by Derek Milton
Genres: dark comedy, drama
Tones: darkly comic, humorous, tense
During an LA smog check, an Eastern European mechanic blunders into a conversation about race with his Black customer. The discomfort doesn't ease — it just gets more specific.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
A racial gaffe set inside an LA smog check is the kind of small, ugly room where good shorts live. I'd rather sit in this car than another sweeping drama.
Race conversation collapsed into the most claustrophobic possible venue, with the camera holding longer and meaner than Curb would dare — that's the formally serious version. I trust this register.
Civic race-conversation reduced to its most claustrophobic possible venue — the mechanic's office, on 16mm with Super 8 flashback — is a textbook example of form-as-argument. The Curb-but-meaner hold is the craft choice.
Reviews
A dry comedy set in L.A., 'Smog,' directed by Derek Milton, tackles an awkward exchange about race relations with understated style and a darkly funny snapshot.