PREPARTUM | Omeleto Sci-Fi
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- Опубліковано 11 жов 2024
- A pregnant woman takes a test.
PREPARTUM is used with permission from Ben Nabors. Learn more at grouptheory.com.
Liam and Blair are expectant parents switching to a private medical practice for Blair's pregnancy. The couple are both caring and invested in their unborn child, and Liam wants only the best. The private practice comes with additional tests, like one that tracks the brain development of their baby, including the ability to "see" the baby's dreams.
Liam and Blair haven't yet gone in for the advanced testing, but Liam is deeply curious, though his wife is less so. Liam's brother Devin even advises them not to do the tests, thinking the less information the better. But Liam's curiosity gets the better of him -- only to open up disturbing revelations that put the future of his family in question.
Directed and written by Ben Nabors, this intriguing short sci-fi drama sits at the intersection of science, knowledge and humans' emotional and social lives, positing fascinating questions about birth, pregnancy and human reproduction. The "sci-fi" aspect of the storytelling is primarily a medical one, where parents have the ability to "see" what their unborn children in the womb can perceive. It's a fascinating premise, parlayed into thought-provoking directions and rich human drama.
The world of the film is very close to the modern one we live in now, and the short has a low-key, slightly moody naturalistic look, accordingly. Liam and Blair sound like any relatable well-off married couple expecting a child, and they have the means for the best, most cutting-edge medical care. The excellent writing and directing charts Liam's growing curiosity as the driving force of momentum, as he becomes especially interested in the role of an unborn baby's dreams on human cognitive development. But his wife doesn't quite share his enthusiasm, and at a family dinner party with Liam's brother Devin and his wife, opinions are divided, revealing a cross-section of attitudes towards prenatal testing and the "optimization" of human beings, even before birth.
Liam and Blair's relationship emerges as an intriguing one as the film develops, and what appears to be a placidly happy marriage shows tiny cracks of differences as the narrative unfurls. These differences haven't quite opened up into outright conflict, but the storytelling is perceptive and emotionally intelligent enough to plant the seeds of possible future discord. As Liam and Blair, actors Ami Malaklou and Ana Nogueira balance this dance of surface harmony and underlying tension, with Liam often more interested in his unborn son than his wife and not noticing how Blair is distracted in other ways. This inattention comes back to haunt him when they go in for the cognitive test and sees results that will change Liam's world and perhaps the future he has been so invested in.
Smart, measured and compelling, PREPARTUM ends with a fascinating evocation of a fetus's consciousness, which constitutes perhaps the only use of special effects in the film. But the most dramatic effect is this technology's ramifications on Liam, Blair and the family they're creating together. It ends with a revelation, one that could constitute both an emotional cliffhanger and an entree into a richer, larger narrative. But as a short, it explores the underlying question of this and many other sci-fi stories: is it possible to have too much knowledge? And do humans have not just the cognitive capabilities to create this technology, but the moral and emotional ones to deploy it wisely?
LOL! If that isn't a kick in the gonads... Great work, acting and story. Well done!
Brilliantly made short film with excellent performances!
Hahaha!!! That surprise ending definitely had me just dying at the end! 🤣
So the baby can only connect with the voices that they are genetically connected to? That's an interesting idea. I wonder if the husband didn't subconsciously have a feeling about that, and it's why he was so anxious about knowing and getting info about the pregnancy and baby.
Sci fi Maury is wild
I did NOT see that one coming! 😱
I knew at dinner.
Well!! THAT certainly had a surprise twist at the end! It was subtle, to be sure…but it was definitely there! 🤣
Incredibly well done by all involved…great acting with a great storyline that definitely has you going “hhmm…!” They set it up really well…dropping hints subtle enough that I didn’t pick up on where the story was going at first…but then when it all becomes clear in the end I find myself thinking back on the film, and realizing it all makes perfect sense! Seriously well written, and awesome work by all involved! Great film!!!🤣
I watched twice because of ur comment 😂😂
can you please explain? I missed the point I'm afraid
@@rossellabor The husband is not the father, the brother of the husband is.
👀 👀 Wow....
I need to see a Part 2 -
When someone goes to jail over this nonsense. 😅
exactly
Oh come on!
Oops!
Be careful what you wish for.....
what the actual.... T.T
All 5 characters very annoying.
Yhooo
They are equating massive amounts of prenatal dreams with intelligence due to the correlations with brain activity. 4 minutes in, it's suggested if the baby would be subpar they could terminate. That's pretty controversial
I mean, people are already trying to cure and terminate people like me, so
Soy boy didn't make the cut
❤ 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
first comment
That's another one off the bucket list.