THE LANDING | Omeleto

A man discovers what landed on his childhood farm in 1960.
THE LANDING is used with permission from Josh Tanner. Learn more at thelandingfilm.com.
As a child in the summer of 1960, Edward lives with his father on a Midwestern farm, with no mother in the picture and a palpable, almost lonely quiet around them.
One night, he and his dad watched something land in a field. Whatever has landed seems to unleash his father's inner turmoil, and haunted the young boy as he grew into a man. Years later, Edward goes to unearth the truth of what just happened -- and reckons with the legacy and shadow that it cast on him and his family.
This sci-fi short -- by writer-director Josh Tanner and co-writer Jade Van Der Lei -- has all the trappings of a classic in its genre, seemingly hearkening back to the 1950s, which its evocation of Cold War paranoia, pastoral innocence and UFOs.
There's also an ambitious, adroit sense of craftsmanship in the camerawork, VFX and lighting that also fits within the genre norms, where all the technical elements of the film work together to evoke otherworldliness and awe at the film's key moments.
But unlike many genre films, there's also a meditative thoughtfulness to the writing and storytelling at the film's beginning that takes its time to observe the main characters and their relationship. Like many sons, Edward craves the love and companionship of his father, who he looks up to as the source of stability in his life. Their father-son dynamic is closely and beautifully observed, showing their bond on their own terms, whether it's through watching TV or eating dinner together or sharing silence as they stare up at the night sky.
But when something falls out of the sky and lands in a field on their farm, their quiet life together is interrupted. The small inner conflicts of Edward's father noted quietly in the storytelling -- a sense of failure, and a longing to make a difference as a man and would-be soldier -- suddenly crack open. Edward then witnesses his father in a way he has never seen before, breaking the bond between them and shattering Edward's innocence forever.
In the end, THE LANDING uses its genre elements -- and its unexpected reveal -- to tell a story about parental legacy, and about what happens when a child's idealization of their parent comes crashing down and they see their dad at his most tortured and ultimately vulnerable. By taking the time and space to build up the historical moment and the characters -- and taking the care to support the emotionally resonant writing with equally powerful performances all around -- it ultimately offers a moving story about love and forgiveness, where we can look at our family in their full truth, and love them anyway.

[@cadavher]

I love how this was done. It had me on the edge waiting to see a glimpse of a creature unknown to mankind, but the endings twist shows the old tale true, of man being the *true* monster afterall...

[@brettthornhill9989]

@@TheAstroflightWhere do you get this 25% stat? I've spent my life working for the Air Force and Army and have met a single soldier who was looking forward to killing anyone. The ones I know who did kill were haunted by it the rest of their lives. Most soldiers I know do it for patriotism, discipline, or money.

[@brettthornhill9989]

@@TheAstroflight 8 years active duty Air Force, 15 years Army civilian. I still want to know where you got the 25% figure.

[@tiltil9442]

@@brettthornhill9989 You can want, but don't have to get...

[@tiltil9442]

You may read an estimate, but may not understand the word itself.

[@honestg]

@@TheAstroflight I find what you said really sad and an honest insight into the mentality of some soldiers during any horrific conflict. Would make anyone ashamed of our 'humanity'.

[@TheTeufelhunden68]

"I was meant to be one of those little green men." The irony runs deep in this short and on many levels.

[@NotAnotherAUDHDCrafter]

Yaaas . The comment I stayed for

[@phoule76]

just 2 levels, but yes, it's ironic

[@LynnHarrod]

@@phoule76 (SPOILERS) Here are some more levels... 1. Dad says he was meant to be one of those “little green men,” which is slang for alien invaders. 2. The boy’s toy soldiers were advancing on a little red creature, which symbolizes Russia and the “Red Scare” of the time. 3. Dad says that there always has to be an enemy, which means in situations where there is no enemy, you become the enemy. 4. The heart monitor in the beginning sounds odd, kinda like tracking a spaceship orbiting the planet. 5. The radio program announcer says “The program you are about to hear is science fiction. We make no guarantees how long it will remain fiction.” 6. The fields around the farm seem endless, making it feel like they’re on another planet. 7. Dad asks “Am I the enemy?” He later gets the answer to his question when he watches the news. 8. The alien in the comic book appears in an sphere of light. The Russian capsule is a sphere. 9. In the barn, when Dad gets his chance to be the rifleman he said he was meant to be, he can’t pull the trigger. He’s no more a rifleman than the toy. 10. The comic book ends with a confrontation between a single army rifleman facing a red alien. 11. The radio news talks about the Russian astronaut as “ushering in the dawn of a new era” just as Dad and Son approach the space capsule at dawn. 12. The TV news anchor says “Now the world is asking… what’s next?” as Dad turns to Son after finding out the truth. Their relationship is changed forever.

[@jacobuponthestone9093]

All excellent points. But i would like to mildy point out on point 9.,that despite the fact he didnt shoot him, he hung him from a roof beam. It was also a shotgun. Which he did fire in the beginning. I would also argue real "riflemen" don't shoot men hung from a rope. Not that you were implying that.

[@RadioactiveSand]

What's the irony exactly?

[@callanmanley7593]

The idea that he killed the first man in space is heartbreaking.

[@praevasc4299]

And he didn't realize his victim was a cosmonaut until he later watched the news. He probably thought the Russian landed there deliberately as part of an invasion.

[@swatisri2409]

First man to attempt to go to space.. clearly he didn’t go to space, his mission failed

[@callanmanley7593]

@@swatisri2409 Quite possibly. He could have gone to space but his capsule landed in the wrong area when he re-entered the atmosphere.

[@swatisri2409]

Mr. & Mrs Smith Maybe. I based my opinion on what was said in Wikipedia about Gagarin’s space mission - “. The core stage then separated while the rocket was in a suborbital trajectory, and the upper stage carried it to orbit. Once the upper stage finished firing, it separated from the spacecraft, which orbited for 108 minutes before returning to Earth in Kazakhstan.Gagarin became the first human to orbit the Earth.” The core separated from the upper stage successfully and was in orbit for 108 minutes before returning to earth. So, if it didn’t separate successfully, or maybe if the timing was off, it might have fallen without orbiting. Again, just speculation. Maybe he went to space and had trouble returning...

[@callanmanley7593]

@@swatisri2409 That's a good conclusion. I was just thinking he had been in space because Gagarin did go to space and re-entered, landing in Russia. They could have miscalculated where this man would re-enter, cashing him to land on the opposite side of the world. It's speculation though, this is just fictional. Or is it...

[@redpier2531]

I've never been so mad at someone that doesn't even exist.

[@scratch3406]

White privilege in a nutshell

[@Cavpal]

@@scratch3406 lemme guess: you're american, right? everything there is about race and division

[@shibbershabber]

@@scratch3406 Nevermind everyone here was white

[@janka1732]

Pinball Pals cus he killed another white man??🤣 what skin color was the man he killed exactly 🤣

[@perstongravey4556]

Cavpal I’m an american and I can confirm that identity politics is one of the biggest things in america and I hate it.

[@burghman8000]

This 17 mins could have been turned into a 2 hour full length feature. It was absolutely incredible.

[@tomat6362]

Unlike so many 2 hour features that could have been told in 17 minutes.

[@comradeq2493]

@@tomat6362 well if, this 17 mins could have been turned into a 2 hour full length feature, then wouldnt that mean that the 2 hour feature version could have been told in 17 mins....

[@roaenokesyzlak7828]

A lot of these films can

[@critical_always]

These movies are like small strawberries. Bursting with flavour. Way better than the big fat watery Hollywood variety.

[@eugenetswong]

I think this should remain 17 minutes. 2 hours would make it drag, I think.

[@yakocal]

His last word was "kid" in Russian, trying to warn him about there is a kid's presence

[@calebcruz2812]

:(

[@dreadcthulhu5]

Boy. мальчик specifically means boy and I thought he was asking him for help personally.

[@Birtheater4545]

The cosmonaut was probably a good man, and the fathers mental state kept him from realizing his intentions. I truly felt bad for him 😿

[@dkyelak]

@@dreadcthulhu5 He also made eye contact with Edward, but Edward couldn't really do anything to help.

[@dougaltolan3017]

@@Birtheater4545 Not an unusual mental state for Americans even to this day despite the cold war being over for decades.

[@kapalapi5519]

This a Hollywood level film. One of the best 17 minutes I ever had in KZbin.

[@blackwave7964]

“And so the enemy was revealed to be, neither a “little, green man”, nor a “red commie”. It was simply the black void of ignorance and hatred. A void that has, and will continue to consume many.... in the Twilight Zone” - If Rod Sterling narrated this lol

[@sipio555]

I read it in Sterling's voice before reading the twilight zone reference

[@shipmancinema]

I thought this was from an actual episode lmao

[@m.c.5795]

Impressive! This could have been an actual closing narration to an episode of the original The Twilight Zone. Well done! 👏👏

[@dkyelak]

I thought it was Stirling's voice on the radio.

[@comradeq2493]

hey that was pretty spot on

[@yategostreetwear1538]

Better than half the movies Hollywood makes

[@mrmagus4553]

More like 90% of all Hollywood movies.

[@bekah9651]

Oh totally

[@gbear1005]

Better than ALL that hollywierd makes.. Fixed that for you

[@SpartanONegative]

That was very good. I didn't expect that at all 👍

[@markmolino6091]

@@gbear1005 ,Agreed

[@patrickslattery2709]

"There ain't no war if there ain't a real enemy." I like when profundity slips into conversations.

[@sandhyamathura]

All the dialogue here is written with knifelike precision. Excellent work.

[@NecrochildK]

And in his own ignorance, he saw war and an enemy where there was none.

[@Nighttrain701]

That would've made a good Twilight Zone episode just add some Rod Serling commentary and there you go.

[@markmolino6091]

I was just thinking that .

[@strivingx67]

Very Twilight Zone-ish. Agree! Rod was one hell of a story teller.

[@markmolino6091]

@@strivingx67 ,For real

[@Ethan-en2ij]

And black and white

[@chayophan3078]

@@Ethan-en2ij and he smoked like a chimney! On camera! What a twist! Oh wait... no. Nope, not a twist. My bad, carry on. Yay, Rod Serling!

[@AnthonyVassallo]

That gut-wrenching moment at 15:12 when the son's belief in his father is destroyed. And the father knows it.

[@DeadPixel1105]

The father reminds me of Michael Douglas' character in "Falling Down". The clothes, glasses, haircut, emotional instability, and even his voice.

[@scottfrenz]

Same

[@AlexisMichelle110]

I thought the same thing too!

[@shadowmoon2894]

Yes, good movie

[@jennag4541]

Im 36 years old and I've watched 100's of movies. Your 10-24 min short films have had more of an impact on me than any 2 hr movie in Hollywood. So Impressive 🤘

[@0230Raveena]

I couldn't agree more.

[@desiblake1776]

It’s a real movie tho I’ve seen it early 2000

[@Dusklight2008]

Having circled the Earth in a satellite ship, I saw how beautiful our planet is. People of Earth, we shall preserve and enhance this beauty, and not destroy it. (c)Yury Alekseevich Gagarin, the first man in space, Soviet cosmonaut, 1961.

[@bachterman]

Поехали!

[@eddiejc1]

What's really sad is that Gagarin never lived to see 40.

[@edwardsmietana2889]

@@bachterman me no no no

[@sallyrickerson9139]

If you circled the earth is a Satellite ship, then you know this. I shall first say, there are 2 groups. The flat earth believers, and the globe believers. Many Christians believe the Earth is a disc under a firmament. as they point this out in Genisus.Others believe in infinite Space and the Earth is a globe. You saw it, what did you see.

[@paulchristman2456]

Believable horror films are by far my favorite in the genre. As I've alluded to before, elements of horror can be found strewn here and there throughout just about everyone's life, even though they are often deliberately overlooked, sometimes out of guilt. Another excellent short. Thanks !

[@neverthesame7887]

So well put. I agree one hundred percent.

[@drewdarren5599]

This tore him up his entire life but he remained faithful to his father's secret. Amazing.

[@PritchDringle]

It causes him to become famous, a target, a tragedy, and eventually a fairly good movie released in 2040 is based on this.

[@orionisaacs9864]

@@PritchDringle Well done

[@FirstnameLastname77777]

This was horrifying to watch but the actor playing the dad did a phenomenal job

[@jeremiahsmith916]

What an amazing film. The twist really made my eyes grow wide in realization (when the letters were revealed). Also a real-life horror story connected to the same events: in 1964, there actually was an unsuccessful launch of a soviet spaceship which lead to the astronaut’s death. Astronaut named Vladimir Komarov fell uncontrollably all the way from the orbit to the surface due to technical issues with the capsule. He was aware of the project’s faults even before launching and tried to stop it, but the soviets wanted the launch to happen because it was Lenin’s birthday or something like that, “ideologically important”. Gagarin was actually supposed to be in that spacecraft, but Komarov, being his friend, decided to sacrifice himself instead and went up there. He knew that he’s going to meet his death in this flight, so he wrote a will beforehand where he demanded an open-casket funeral to force the officials face what they’ve done. There are photos; it doesn’t look remotely human, just a twisted mess of bones and metal molten together. The Cold War was a horrible time in its own way.

[@galememeeof6688]

I've seen that on You Tube.

[@carolrivers8667]

Thank you for the history lesson! I had no idea.

[@kathleenadams6421]

I saw the photo of his remains. A man of incredible valor.

[@goldenboatcaptain]

Wow that's an amazing story

[@LakeWebb]

The keen sense less beating heart once another's loss of an other...

[@robertaylor9218]

This is uncomfortably plausible

[@kj9219]

Hate to tell ya...

[@leahflops9425]

@@kj9219 wait is it real?

[@fool-osophy4577]

Yuri died when he and a flight instructor were flying a MiG and crashed. This is just a film. It was a good one, though.

[@leahflops9425]

@Keyzer Soze Oh.

[@CinematicSeriesGaming]

Wow, this was amazing. It was tense, dramatic, the twist was awesome and the cinematography as well as music just superb. I think these shorts are criminally underrated.

[@robertwilder5479]

So, Gagarin was not the first man in space? The dad murdered the first?

[@swatisri2409]

He was the first man in space. This man’s mission failed, he fell back to the earth...

[@abyssstrider2547]

Yep.

[@genshiyami]

It's just a story in which Yuri Gagarin wasn't the first man

[@genshiyami]

In space

[@witchingmushroom1761]

@@genshiyami nobody never know)))

[@SuperVendetta9]

They picked the perfect actors for Eddie; young and old. Facial features, etc. Casting did a good job here.

[@raceblakhart4941]

Make up your mind. Did they do "good", or were they "perfect"? Those words, as adjectives, aren't even in the same zipcode as one another.

[@ratfeetinmayonnaise546]

@@raceblakhart4941 chill dude this is youtube youre lucky they bothered to even punctuate or capitalize it no ones gonna give you an F for having contrasting words in a youtube comment because if so id be screwed along with the majority of anyone on this platform

[@SuperVendetta9]

@@raceblakhart4941 , yes, it is YT. Sorry to you if things aren't clear or grammatically correct. You come off as being insincere and disingenuous. Learn to respond appropriately.

[@SuperVendetta9]

@@ratfeetinmayonnaise546 , interesting.

[@googlethis313]

5:02 That’s what Kansas used to look like when I was little. The wind would move over the fields and the phrase “waves of grain” finally made sense. It was beautiful. Good movie. It’s goes deep into the psychological depths of not only the characters in this well made movie, but man in general. And the cinematography is brilliant! Bravo to all involved! ❤️, A Dorothy In Red Mary Janes

[@MobileFilmmaking]

Oh wow.. Everything about this was so good from the acting to the story and the cinematography.. Just wow

[@EpicRobloxTomboy]

I was expecting a regular old cheesy alien story. I wouldn't have minded one, but this concept and project was really well done.

[@sunderbans]

That moment when you murder the first human that has been to space

[@niklaskovacevic167]

John Cumbee hi halo combat evolved.

[@sunderbans]

@@niklaskovacevic167 sup? I'm the future of gaming

[@snipes_1138]

Tbh with how hard he hit the ground he should be paist.

[@sunderbans]

@@snipes_1138 yeah. Did you see a parachute on the ground around the capsule or anything?

[@snipes_1138]

@@sunderbans No I did not and with how fast he was going he should have gotten cooked.

[@freakyold]

This was a brilliant story. I was just reading an article yesterday about how Yuri Gagarin became an alcoholic after his celebrity faded. Their are so may tragic stories about the people involved in both the space race and the Cold War. Yuri was a player in both of those dramas. He was just a guy who loved to fly but they made him a star for a while - the heroic, handsome face of the Soviet Union - and then a has-been for the rest of his life.

[@norahr868]

A very short rest of his life unfortunately :(

[@fredapeeples6619]

Isn't alcohol abuse embedded in Russian culture thoug? 12 year olds drinking vodka isn't abnormal there.

[@cccpredarmy]

How did he became an alcoholic while continuing being a cosmonaut (in reserve) and a very active test pilot? You follow a strict dietal rules as a test pilot. Your condition is always monitored by doctors frequently

[@nadinelezama4495]

As are all your heroes even in your country. Man is a sad thing and we haven't gotten any better. Just as ignorant and filled with hate, selfishness and greed.

[@ben6993]

I have no idea where you read that, I’m not saying your wrong but he died flying a plane in 1968, if he was an alcoholic he wouldn’t have been allowed

[@taff6987]

Cool short! Held my attention all the way through. Cinematography was impressive for a short too. Thanks

[@upsettingrock1]

Andromeda M31 when you find someone with a similar pic

[@taff6987]

@@upsettingrock1 good taste😎

[@djchiesa3567]

The dad was probably discharged from army as a bit looney and they needed farmers. Father lost his wife and became a bit psycho. Astronaut landed in his field, not sure if space flight was successful or not but either way he landed in the farmer/dad's field.

[@NielsenWill]

He had bad eye sight so that would be why the army rejected him.

[@Paradisio84]

Also he's... like a Commie too... sleeping listening to USSR music. Poor eyesight too... yeah that too... real bummer

[@philipmann5317]

Yes, even the military has standards. They want somebody who will follow orders, not go off the deep end.

[@Phonedblock1]

Let’s be honest everyone thought it was an alien crashing into earth not a human

[@danielc2874]

Kinda the point of the first half of the short....

[@net28573]

Well, he was technically an illegal alien...

[@kobyrosser5854]

Ye

[@AC-he8ln]

No, only you

[@johnbgood52]

There's still enough left in me of that geeky sci-fi-loving kid I used be that I was a little disappointed that it wasn't.

[@metermorphose]

What a plot! What actors! Overwhelming and deeply touching. The father's traumata and wounds made him abuse his son emotionally and mentally. And he having watched and not at all having been sheltered in no way still is loyal to his father for all those years. Parent's pain is lived by their children if no one helps. What a tragedy in so many ways. And this film shows bitter ironies as well. Birlliance within a few minutes. Absolutely impressive!

[@wimpwampwomp]

The first cosmonaut: *touches the heavens * Some farmer in the Midwest with a shotgun

[@jeffffro7674]

Seems to me like his dad realized at the end that he just murdered, for no reason, the 1st human to go to space and back, and that maybe it wasn't his finest hour!! Personally, if I was him, I don't think I could have gone on living with what I had done. Drunk at the time, ptsd, hallucinating, whatever the case was, that my son watched me kill someone and knowing it's probably gonna haunt him forever, that is more than enough for me to put some margarita salt on the ole 12 gauge and turn out the light. Well made flick! Good flashes back and forth, good acting adult and child alike, good camera work, I like it! Gotta watch it a few more times and check out all the great subtleties I missed the 1st go round.....

[@FlameOnDeck]

That's also a theme of the short tho, the fact that you don't really know what you wouldve done since you weren't in the dad's shoes. You're only saying what you think you would've done. It's the whole underlying issue with patriotism and brainwashing of that time period. He was so numb to being brought up thinking something that it that it didn't even phase him to think it was wrong until the aftermath hit

[@matthewhorizon6050]

Tap into your inner psychopath. Commies make nice wind chimes. See, "glass half full." Oopsy 🤷‍♂️

[@praevasc4299]

Especially as he didn't know about the space program (he only realized if after he watched the TV news about Gagarin), so he probably mistook the cosmonaut who landed there by mistake, for a Soviet spy or saboteur or invader, who landed there deliberately as part of an invasion force.

[@TheHumanEwok]

I interpreted it as by killing the cosmonaut he covered up the USSR's failures and betrayed the US by not handing him over to the government

[@SamieMac1]

Other than being another tired anti-patriot trope, this was great. Super well made. Acting was sharp. The pacing was excellent. Kept me on edge the whole time!

[@monicataylor6145]

I felt so bad for Edward...his dad put a life long burden on him

[@WitchidWitchid]

I felt bad for that Spaceman too. Any kind of space travel back in those days meant putting your life at major risk. Now imagine risking your life to get blasted into space, managing to return to the earth in one piece only to be killed at the hands of a maniacal man who wants to pretend he's a soldier. And the poor kid. Imagine how the poor kid felt every day efter witnessing an ugly and horrible side to his own father.

[@monicataylor6145]

@@WitchidWitchid So true...this short showed the ugly side of an adult...not all enemies are your enemies

[@monicataylor6145]

@@karlkarl7282 but it still sux that his son paid that price

[@karlkarl7282]

@@monicataylor6145 Yeah, no doubt.

[@cowmoo5596]

@sdsufvhretguxerg fxgsdfgyufxwwxio Yes, the government killed 15 Million Ukrainians. The Cosmonaut didn't go around personally killing 15 million people. He shouldn't be killed for a crime he didn't commit, this wasn't justice, this was a lynching. Ya know, things the Reds did in the revolution? Here in America we have Law, Order, and a fair unbiased justice system

[@eoindelahunty74]

0:42 "The program you are about to hear is largely fiction, science fiction. We make no guarantees however, how long it will remain fiction." I like to think that the producer/producers of this film put that line in to show that they truly believe this could have happened, and that the truth is yet to come out.

[@dogon3]

Or that some war hawk will unintentionally destroy a national hero of another country or culture.

[@johnbgood52]

Given the socio-political climate in the Soviet Union at the time, it absolutely *could* have happened. But that doesn't mean it *did* happen.

[@aapjew18]

I think more likely they're just trying to set the tone that this is going to be about aliens.

[@Hiraghm]

yes because critical theory dictates that the US was _always_ in the wrong, and _always_ was the bad guys. 🙄

[@sandhyamathura]

WHY hasn't this won international short film awards?? MASTERFUL STORYTELLING. Intertextuality, manipulation of time through the tiniest of details, genre stretching. Plus wholesome ideology. BRILLIANT nugget.

[@stasha121]

This short hits hard on so many levels. Great!

[@allthingshollywood2620]

This one is truly amazing. It used the World of The Wars radio broadcast to set up an expectation of an alien invasion, but it took a different route. Brilliant!

[@cac0da]

I didn't pay a single penny to watch this and I think that makes it way too underpriced.

[@48kelvin]

When you realize that this might’ve actually happened due to the secrecy of the soviet union

[@noahparker50]

When you realize that governments have been doing this for centuries because all governments are corrupt

[@lucaskohl1037]

Why though ? In the Film the landing was a success, maybe Not the place where IT should land but nevertheless

[@ronagoodwell2709]

Think about what might have happened due to the secrecy of the US. The mind boggles. But go watch Pioneer One on KZbin. 6 part series. Secrecy. Mars. etc.

[@brandonkey181]

@@noahparker50 To say that all governments are corrupt is super ignorant.

[@TonecrafteLuthiery]

When you realize this might have actually happened in reverse due to the secrecy of the US government 🤔 In all seriousness, blaming the Soviet government would be very odd if this actually occured. A man was *murdered* by a crazed anti-communist farmer. Not killed by American military personnel who saw him as a threat. He was captured, bound, and killed by a vigilante. If the roles were reversed, and an American test pilot was murdered by Russian farmers after a crash landing, the world would be outraged by their behavior. Secret test flight or not. And let's just be honest, all test flights are secret. We've had plenty of test flights of our own, many of which weren't publically revealed until years to even decades after the fact.

[@ursaltydog]

Such guilt the son felt all those years.. embodying disgust for his father, yet still had compassion at the end.. or was it poetic justice that he allowed him to feel like a soldier, put the toy soldier in his hand, and then uncovered the truth for all to see after he'd passed..

[@eviljods]

Darker than i was expecting but brilliant. Very much enjoyed this, good job :)

[@corozo7125]

The kid looks like Kevin from home alone

[@cwlpol]

The thumbnail though, I just watched this horror movie called Tall grass something loool

[@slattvamp5291]

shangshang bruhh same i just watched that!!

[@theTrend7]

I saw it too,and still don't know what to think about it.

[@Cristopher.C]

@@theTrend7 haha that fecking rock thing, man!

[@witchingmushroom1761]

Bro, help me, what does it mean - "thumbnail"? I can't realize what the point in this phrase))) I really appreciate it)

[@Cristopher.C]

@@witchingmushroom1761 you mean you dont know what a thumbnail is? it's the little preview picture you get for every video before you watch it, in this case its the boy with his hand on the big round thing, just like in that one tall grass movie with the kid with his hand on the big rock thing

[@antediluvianatheist5262]

Yes daddy, you are the enemy.

[@tominnis8353]

The time constraints of short films like this means that literally every second must count. This has been achieved beautifully and poignantly here. Another one and a quarter hours would probably have had us all yawning. Thank you for such taut skill; I was riveted.

[@ashtonandkylievideos2929]

It shows real talent when a short film and short story tells a riveting story in such a short time

[@tomgreaney1]

Absolutely outstanding, wasn’t expecting the twist… 10/10

[@maddiehad]

the acting is really well done and so was the direction.

[@mtlassen1992]

The acting is incredible. Why didn't I find your channel when this damn pandemic started?

[@chemtrooper]

This story is better than anything Disney published in the last five years.

[@shaunsteel2258]

in the last... eternity

[@saram3449]

I mean you can’t really compare them....Disney primarily makes children’s movies....

[@denniscarroll3164]

These films are very imaginative. More entertaining than so much offered these days.

[@thetalkingshrimp5683]

That was so powerful. The guilt and torment he had to live with for so many decades. You watch these sci fi flicks thinking it's 90% sci fi but some of the most haunting are those that are simply about basic human struggles and conflict. This is one of them.

[@Lord_Ronin_The_Compassionate]

Wow! How is it that these filmmakers are able to cram so much more movie into a 15 minute short, and yet the major filmmakers struggle to come close to such an engaging story?

[@UncleSlimJimmy]

Truly one of my favorite short films this channel has ever published. It's so immersive and crazy to watch. Great job Omeleto

[@alexkontrobarsky5032]

Brilliant on so many levels!!! Great writing, production and acting! Thank you!!!

[@kalebm6758]

To me this isn't a short film. It's a little miracle😂. 10/10

[@Honeybreee]

After the death of the last cosmonauts this hits especially hard. Покойся с миром, дорогой товарищ

[@AllThingsFilm1]

This is one short film that should have awards splashed all over it. If this didn't win any awards, then there is no life on this planet.

[@tannerofjosh]

VFX Todd it did - thank you :)

[@gabb5]

Sci-fi is probably my favourite genre, this is very interesting The filming is really good too Edit: woooaah, it's not even Sci-fi Edit again: so I guess it is Sci-fi? Maybe?

[@nopda4095]

@Kurt E. Clothier we did already travel to space so its not really sci fi

[@libo2000]

It definitely toyed with the idea that an alien had landed so I count it as Sci-fi. It wasn't until I saw the dude that I knew there was no alien and by then it was already three quarters through.

[@abyssstrider2547]

@Kurt E. Clothier That would be scientific movie, and not a science fiction movie

[@boredom2go]

It is definitely science fiction. It's in the vein of Capricorn One. Sci fi is really about the physical, mental, and social dynamics of humans dealing with new technology. Space travel is a new technology. The father was convinced this had to have a military explanation because the truth was beyond his current reality.

[@dk-nj3je]

gabby you're bipolar or have cognitive dissonance?

[@aletheadsouza7740]

There’s something special about reading comics at night with a flash light

[@jimjimmyjames59]

One of the better stories AND it reached a conclusion. Really good!

[@johncraft6603]

Well done! Did not see that one coming for sure. Really captured the paranoia of the times.

[@FirehorseCreative]

What a fantastic short story / film. WONDERFUL writing and execution. Projects like this are the cat's pajamas. Kudos!

[@behemotors4950]

Reminds of me the classic The Twilight Zone. Rod Serling would be proud of you guys!

[@tannerofjosh]

BeheMotors thank you :)

[@ABW941]

That one with the giant alien women killing off the little astronauts who are thought to be the aliens?

[@samuelparker9882]

BeheMotors EXACTLY! Whomever wrote this short story, definitely has the " Twilight Zoneisque " format down to a " T ! " I'd watch a new series of shows, if they were written and done as well as this one was.

[@TheG_Boy]

This deserves atleast 5 million views

[@chiphowell4063]

This is really well done, and it's heartbreaking on a level. The reveal was really well done and heart-wrenching, and I don't want to imagine what it must have been like for that kid to grow up knowing what he knew. WOW!

[@wildemind1]

This team has got to do a feature film.

[@duledulencio]

Street where I live at, has name by that great man - Jurij Gagarin Boulevard

[@aleksbb2537]

Dušan Šućur юрий Гагарин пьёт молоко Юрий Гагарин летает высоко

[@nikitaastakhov9252]

@@aleksbb2537 what does that even mean,never heard of it

[@redefiningmyself8598]

Stay cheeki breeki

[@patrickdavis9566]

This was a very moving short. Bravo!

[@82vette28]

my dismay is that I have missed these great productions all these years. This was excellent. Hollywood can't produce anything new, only remakes. And then these type of productions come along. Well done.

[@steve8234]

Wow... this was an amazing short film. I had no expectations or idea where it was going. I was pleasantly surprised and impressed. Great job, this is how it should be done.

[@elizabethgaspodnetich4322]

Well, that was messed up. Could that be any more sad? I don't want to know. Once you start seeing demons, sooner or later you're going to meet an angel, and you won't be able to tell the difference.

[@robuswhitewolf4896]

You know, the devil was an angel.

[@bensweiss]

A powerful short film. I enjoyed the story twist. The colors were beautiful.

[@abdur1996]

This was a REALLLY well done twist. I had a hundred things in my mind, including his father being a Soviet spy or a double spy half way through. But I was not ready for the mirror reflection at the end. 10/10 bravo

[@javedhider2428]

This is an incredible short film with a real twist in the end.

[@adventuresterling]

I like how the father comes to the realization that he was never able to be a rifleman since he did not have what it requires to kill someone in cold blood.

[@kalstonii]

At least not in front of his kid. If it was just the two men, yeah, pops woulda shot him. Especially if you have it in you to hang someone and watch their last breaths

[@lyricberlin]

way to disrespect every veteran and he murdered the guy in cold blood

[@monicataylor6145]

Enemies can be closer than you think...

[@blackshogun272]

The greatest threat is to anything is a human with power and no remorse...

[@bermanmo6237]

It was a twilight zone episode. An alien came to earth disguising himself as a gun dealer at a gun show offering the ultimate gun. A gun that does not need bullets and maintainence. It can be easily concealed and can fire on command. The gun was so well made that it becomes a part of you literally. Oh, the best part, there is a free trial period. The gun the alien was offering attached itself to the person firing it. So, it is a part of you. Yes, it never needs reloading or maintenance. It works because the person who holds the weapon can kill with no remorse. So, the gun is really an extension of the person using it. The alien explained he came to earth looking for soldiers to fight in his world's war. He said humans make the best soldiers for his world since they can kill with no remorse due to their hatery. It turns out he has been going to a lot of gun shows making the same offers. So the alien set up him with his rival to see if he can kill him with no remorse, the final part of the test. Although he managed to wound him and was on the vague of killing him, he stopped because he felt remorse. The alien said he was a disappointment since he thought he would have passed his test. The gun than detaches itself from his arm and the alien than put the gun in a box and leaves. The final scene had the alien at another gun show about to make the same offers to another gun buyer.

[@shashasyedd8858]

Beautifully crafted film, and a reminder that living in one's own narrow preconceived notions of things, can destroy something great.

[@Sadc0m]

There is not only the plot here, and the twist , but some archetypes, and quite a few serious problems, metaphors, it's amazing! I salute the creators!

[@Archynan]

When he grabbed the noose- I was suddenly like “Wait wait wait”

[@sylviaharkinson7066]

Powerful film ....very well produced ,directed ,edited and acted...poor little Edward did not stand a chance....and his father could be many ,many men and some women who felt that way then and feel that way now......nice to see a film that is thought provoking as well as gripping ....thanks to all concerned.....this is a very interesting film company...one to keep an eye on .....REdx

[@bodhiswayze1892]

I discovered this in 2023!! Omfg, this absolutely blew my mind. Thank you- this was an awesome video…..

[@wizardofcog]

That was an amazing short film. Cinematography was exceptional. Would have been great as a full length feature.

[@aquamarineancientsoul7893]

The father wouldnt have made a great soldier after all

[@MachineThatCreates]

You could argue that he would've made a perfect soldier. "The boss wants me to kill these @#$/+* so that's what I do" Great short film.

[@augustovasconcellos7173]

@@MachineThatCreates Well, yeah, but there's a little something called war crimes. Something that a soldier is not supposed to do. Something that the father in this film just did.

[@antediluvianatheist5262]

@@augustovasconcellos7173 yeah but they're only war crimes when some else does it. When it's the US, its defending freedom.

[@doot9695]

@@augustovasconcellos7173 both side commit war crimes. It's just the winner holds the gavel

[@finnishwehraboo8377]

@@antediluvianatheist5262 YEEE usa commited "Freedom acts" in ww2 too

[@phaedra9698]

"rediscovers" He knew what happened. He just hoped that his childhood memory was just an errant dream.

[@anishasahu8127]

Can u explain?

[@jasonbennett7002]

Brilliant story and story telling. Tom Usher as a child actor kicked arse ... don't recall seeing him in anything else but then I don't get out much. :)

[@jamesbutler5995]

What a great short film it kept on the edge of my seat I can only imagine the guilt that the kid carried with him to his grave I give this 5 stars!!!!

[@EveryDayTrucker]

I felt an intimate connection with this story. While not the same as mine I still related! One of the best Omeleto videos I've ever seen!

[@Forrteroi]

Way better than most hollywood films. I can't believe I actually guessed right what landed, lmao

[@morenofranco9235]

What a twist. Well done Josh, Jade and Team. Thank You.

[@mcsstudios101]

I just watched 2 of the short films. Absolutely Incredible! Great Everything!

[@TonecrafteLuthiery]

Who's the enemy then? Me? Well you're the one hanging an astronaut that landed on your farm because he's from Russia so yeah kinda 🤷‍♂️

[@TonecrafteLuthiery]

@arkanove delije I don't typically just hang the people I disagree with politically.

[@blitzkrieg6076]

The point was that the father thought that the cosmonaut was a spy or just someone evil in general. During the Cold War people were very cautious and thought that anyone that was from the opposing country was an enemy. The father was too fearful to actually care about the cosmonaut and didn't trust him either way.

[@blitzkrieg6076]

As the father says and believes, "he is the enemy."

[@Necrodzentelmenel1]

When you keep someone in small room with no water or food and then brutally murder him on eyes of your son just because he is commie, even tho you don't even know why is he here. I do it usually.

[@nikitakuznetsov8446]

@enver hoxha Capitalism is the enemy.

[@juliaconnell]

OMG - he killed superman!!!

[@ladysquids]

Julia Connell no.....not even close

[@juliaconnell]

@@ladysquids umm it's a joke - strange craft crashes in the middle of fields in the middle of nowhere...

[@FadingPixel]

Omg i probably ruined it by reading comments first.

[@FadingPixel]

That would have been nice plot twist though.

[@Instabwillity]

lmao

[@MrWendell6702]

EVERY Omoleto film needs to be 5 minutes longer. Great stuff!

[@demotivater]

This was fantastic. Very well done and great acting.

[@judelucero1035]

Also, is it just me or does adult Edward look older than his dying dad at the end

[@samualstanley8671]

Keeping secrets ages humans immensely.

[@Truckngirl]

Incredibly disturbing.

[@biologicalagent]

Wow!! That’s one of my all time favs! I want to see more of this one!!