ReEntry (2019)

Directed by: Ben Brand | 9 minutes | drama, fantasy, short film | Actors: Issaka Sawadogo, John Bang Reilly

Andy Weir is the author of the book “The Martian”, which was made into a movie by Ridley Scott starring Matt Damon. Weir also wrote a short story, “The Egg,” which he published on his website in 2009. The story became immensely popular. So many fans wished others could read it too, that the translations shot up like mushrooms. “The Egg” also inspired other artists: rapper Logic’s album “Everybody” (2017) is based on the story; German animation studio Kurzgesagt made an animation film of it in 2019 and Dutch filmmaker Ben Brand a “live action” variant, entitled ‘Re Entry’. The film is part of the annual short film program KORT!

The movie is about you. You’re a man in your late forties and you just died in a car accident. That’s not the end, because you hear someone talking to you. In a beautiful English accent, an invisible entity tells you in a lightly comical way everything you need to know about what just happened and what lies ahead. “You were on your way home when you died. Nothing purticularly remarkable, but fa-al none the less.” You ask questions. And gets answers. But not all puzzle pieces land at once. But once they do, it’s all-encompassing and deeply philosophical. Until recently, did you think ’42’ was the answer to life, the universe and everything? Think again! Wow.

The images fit the story very well. You see a man lying on his side in a forest. It is dark. He comes to slowly. Quick cuts show other people, just too quick to tie a rope to them, but excellent for setting the mood. You feel the man’s dismay, but at the same time, after a while, also the resignation. Basically as you can imagine what it’s like to realize you’re dead. Can’t go back to your life anymore, but you are curious about what is happening to you now. Are you going to heaven? Will you soon lose your sense of the answers to the five W’s? ‘ReEntry’ is just as good a film adaptation of the story of “The Egg” as ‘The Martian’ is.