A suspenseful crime saga in-the-making.
We’ve all heard about the Black Market, that underground commerce system where illicit goods are bought and sold, but how many of you can define the Red Market? I’ll give you a hint: the “red” is emblematic of blood.
In case that wasn’t clear enough, the Red Market is the colorful nickname given to the world of organ smuggling, you know, everything that happens after someone wakes up in a bathtub of ice cubes with a pain in their side and a note scrawled on the mirror in lipstick: “Thanks for last night. Took one of your kidneys. Call 911. XOXO.”
Entitled RED, the film revolves around three characters: the prostitute who drugs her Johns for harvesting, the surgeon who does said harvesting, and the big bad boss who oversees it all. Actor-turned-director Branko Tomovic (Fury, 24: Live Another Day) makes his debut with RED, and for all the film’s narrative and visual fluidity, you’d never guess he was a newbie. The film is tense, equally balanced between emotion and action, and one hell of an interesting take on that old chestnut about the bad guy wanting to come clean. Tomovic stars as the surgeon, Niklas, while the rest of the triumvirate is rounded out by Francesca Fowler (Doctor Who) as Mia the prostitute and Dervla Kerwin (Ondine) as the boss, Ed.
The short’s already been selected by a score of top-notch film festivals, and with its 20-minute running time it feels like a taut episode of some intriguing crime saga, which it could totally be expanded into; I’d watch the hell out of and original series set in this world, and I think you’re about to agree with me.
Related Topics: Short Films
