By: Amanda Guarragi
Alive is written and directed by Jimmy Olsson, which was supposed to premiere at the Cleveland International Film Festival. The short film is about a disabled woman named Viktoria (Eva Johansson), who yearns for intimacy. Her assistant Ida (Madeleine Martin) helps her by making her a Tinder profile, hoping it would raise her spirits.
The concept of the film is something unique and hasn’t really been done before, especially on this level of lighthearted humour and genuine feelings towards those who have impediments of any kind. It’s a story that is so innocent, yet makes an impact because of the characters in the story. Even the relationship between Viktoria and Ida was so natural and sweet, that they do care for each other.
Eva Johansson’s performance was great and I wanted to see another two hours of her living her best life. She brought such light and cleverness to Viktoria and had great chemistry with Martin. It was also relatable because of the previous knowledge we all have about Tinder. Ida being apprehensive about Viktoria getting matches and meeting these men, has to do with the fact that first Tinder dates at someone’s home can be unsafe. Viktoria wants to feel alive and once her faith is restored through Tinder, she has more confidence in herself.
Alive is a lovely film and has such great representation of female friendships as well. It also feels intense at times because of the possibility of something going wrong for Viktoria because of what we know about Tinder. Ida and Viktoria’s friendship is such a force in this short film and the ending is perfect.
Candid Cinema 