It is maybe the first time in a long time we have the occasion to watch a movie where deep sadness is the focal point. We’ve encountered almost the same theme in Eric Emmanuel Schmitt’s novel "Oscar and the Lady in Pink", where the young boy Oscar starts sending letters to God, describing his last twelve days on this world. The letters are funny, intriguing, with remarkable characters, but if we have to take in consideration the ending, the general positive mood falls back to a deep bitter sadness.

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Jacob Pilgaard's 'Behold, Such Clown' comes on the market with a fresh new vibe, a powerful story about life and death, about sadness and broken promises. The main character, Elias the hospital clown, played by Tommy Kenter, is about to retire from this job but has one last case to handle before being replaced by another clown. The young girl suffering from a terminal disease seems to be very difficult to connect with at first, being aware of her status and knowing that no treatment works on her. The story takes an unpredictable turn of events when Elias meets the mother of the girl. The story builds itself as we approach the end of this short, and the whole picture we get close to the end will certainly bring tears to every viewer’s eyes.

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The cinematography of this short is spectacular, providing some frames that could compete with most Hollywood productions. The shadow play is flawless, giving this short a new emotional dimension that beats any short drama one has ever seen. Also, Tommy Kenter through this role made it into our festival hall of fame, for expressing genuine emotions and swinging from sadness to extreme sadness and back on a mellow ground in such an amazing short. 'Behold, Such Clown' is not a movie for the masses, but it has the power to make every skeptical person fall in love from the first (amazing!) frame.

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Written by Vlad A. G