Souls of Totality
2018 · 18m · USA
Directed by Richard Raymond
Genres: drama, romance, sci-fi
Tones: contemplative, melancholic, tender
Lady 18 and Guy 3 are members of a cult who believe that if they die during a total solar eclipse their souls will be carried to paradise. As totality approaches, their forbidden love forces a final reckoning with faith, sacrifice, and the moment that will change everything.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
The eclipse gimmick threatens to swallow the whole thing—a real celestial event upstaging human drama—but Raymond's weird refusal to make the eclipse *matter* the way you'd expect is genuinely perverse; the sky goes dark and the film stays locked on two faces, which is either brilliant or a missed opportunity, and I'm genuinely unsure.
There's a formal restraint here that echoes the ascetic tradition of cult cinema—think Bresson's devotional austerity—where the cosmic backdrop serves as a *frame* rather than spectacle, and the editing's commitment to intimate duration over montage suggests a filmmaker conscious of how silence operates in spiritual narrative.
The decision to shoot the actual eclipse in real time rather than cut away or fake it forces an unbearable hold on the actors' faces during the one moment they've been promised transcendence, and that collision between the immovable astronomical fact and the actors' tiny, mortal expressions is where the whole film lives.
Reviews
An extremely well crafted relationship drama that showcases an astonishing level of craft and technical precision.
The chemistry between Maslany and Cullen makes up for the limited runtime — you buy them as a couple and believe in their struggle. Maslany is simply amazing.
Festivals
- HollyShorts Film Festival 2018, Best Grand Jury Prize
- Raindance Film Festival 2018, Best UK Short
- Edinburgh International Film Festival 2018
- Toronto Short Film Festival 2018