THIN ICE | Omeleto

An ice rink employee sees a suspicious man.
THIN ICE is used with permission from Joosje Duk. Learn more at joosjeduk.com.
An employee at a local ice skating rink is wiling away his shift at the lost-and-found booth on a busy day. But in the course of his duties -- and while being distracted by a conversation with a very talkative skater turning in a lost item -- he spots a suspicious-looking man with a backpack across the rink.
When the man begins acting oddly, the employee's mind begins to imagine something nefarious, wondering if a potential catastrophe may just be happening before his eyes.
Writer-director Joosje Duk's sharply focused psychological drama -- produced by Achmed Akkabi, Quintin Baker and Tamar Guttmann -- is essentially about fear, and how fear can shape the perception of events in people's minds, warping realities into pre-existing and not always accurate narratives.
Here, the narrative is the discourse around terrorism in general -- a highly topical and relevant subject, given recent events throughout Europe. But the film's strength and skill aren't about dogma or ideology. Instead, its intelligent, precise writing adroitly evokes an internal experience of fear and imagination, constantly modulating it with a sure-handed control of information and causing viewers to question just how much we can trust our own perceptions at times.
The storytelling is able to enter into the employee's point-of-view, thanks to subtle yet commanding direction and editing. Shot in an unobtrusive, seemingly naturalistic style, the choices of shot and sequencing constantly upends the expectations of objectivity that such a style evokes.
Instead, the style reveals itself as actually quite stylized as the film progresses, sticking to rigorously clean and simple angles within two main camera positions during the bulk of the narrative. As the action progresses and we observe the reactions of the employee -- not to mention his distraction -- we see and experience how the employee makes meaning of what he's seeing. As viewers, we are held to what he sees and knows, and soon we are swept up with him into a quietly effective and tense potential disaster sequence.
THIN ICE could be considered a political film, but it is less about policy and more about the intersection of ideas and tropes with personal perception. Through this self-contained short, we experience just how emotionally powerful tropes can root themselves in the mind, with the fear they evoke affecting how we interpret and relate to the world and people outside of us.
Though the events obliquely referenced by THIN ICE are recent and still relevant, watching prejudice play out as a mental and emotional process is almost universal to any experience in which events, people and behavior are reshaped to fit a template, rather than being seen for themselves.
This is a thought-provoking film, but it provokes not through incendiary rhetoric but through its own curious, lucid questioning of just how reliable human perception and interpretation can be. It ends with a dark, almost thriller-like note that further destabilizes just what we and the main character know and causes us to question if what we watched was "real" -- and perhaps interrogates the very notion of absolute certainty itself during a time of constant anxiety and fear.

[@escrows]

Am I the only one that thought the guy had a pair of ice-skates in the backpack and was just really nervous about trying it and kept contemplating taking them out or not?

[@Yungmexikc]

Dude bro I thought the same thinh

[@marquesbkrown761]

Opiate i also thought he had ice skates

[@aidenkeay9950]

Yeah

[@ixccy_]

Opiate we thought he would do them with the Ak

[@trinitylivingston1286]

Yeah, maybe.

[@nickrameau938]

At first I thought the girl was trying to deflect his attention from the "Bomber dude". Then I realized she was prolly interested into him and he has PTSD.

[@arizonarangerwithabigirono1520]

Kevin Richards so what? he can call her a girl if he wants to

[@elliottobin507]

Kevin Richards sir you simpin

[@arizonarangerwithabigirono1520]

Elliot Tobin lol he is simpin hard

[@veeam21]

@Kevin Richards Umm, are you serious? He can call her a girl if he wants to :)

[@arizonarangerwithabigirono1520]

Kevin Richards what were we spelling incorrectly you idiot. Also we don’t care if you call nick a boy anyone can call anybody whatever they want.

[@joemorris8556]

Reminds me of Richard Jewell at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. For you younger guys, he was working as a security guard in the centennial Olympic park. He spotted a suspicious backpack and alerted police and hurried crowds of people away from it. A few moments later it exploded killing one and injuring over 100 others. The backpack had contained 3 fragmentation pipe bombs. Had Jewell not acted dozens or more people would have been killed . He was initially hailed a hero but later became the main suspect. There was zero evidence he had been the bomber but he was convicted by the media and made out to be a wanna be cop seeking attention for himself. Eventually he was cleared when the real bomber, Eric Rudolph was caught. Rudolph had bombed several abortion clinics and a gay nightclub. Many people today still believe Richard Jewell, the security, was the bomber because of all the media coverage claiming he was the bomber, and very little coverage when he was exonerated. It has always made me sad how this hero that saved so many lives , never got the praise and recognition he deserved, rather he got quite the opposite. When you realize that this was before columbine, 9/11, the Boston marathon, etc , it makes what he did even more amazing. Thank you Richard Jewell for being alert and taking your job seriously.

[@keon.123]

Respect + mission passed

[@danroux4010]

Jewell was living with his mother at the time. The FBI witch hunt destroyed both their lives. A very sad, tragic story indeed. I hope they later managed to find some degree of peace.

[@tdudethetrain]

Well at least one of the gay nightclubs he bombed didn’t have Freddie Mercury in it or our lives will be so different

[@matteogiancola9913]

@@keon.123 This goes to show how much the media can twist stories.

[@keon.123]

@@matteogiancola9913 ya

[@abnapper2630]

Legend says to this day she is still talking about lice

[@mastermixxx6613]

I love you

[@afrinakhanam1265]

🤣😂

[@lauralockwood48]

A compelling film, so beautifully expressed in 10 minutes. An incredible feat. Congratulations to Joosje Duk, the filmmaker, and the whole cast and crew - wonderful work!

[@johannasduk9748]

Laura Lockwood thank you so much dear Laura!!!! ♥️

[@billyreynolds4749]

@Yolo KFC - Yes!! God IS great!! But...God does NOT want anyone to kill in His name!

[@shekharmishra9206]

Can you please explain what it meant, I have like 3 different versions

[@crashoutvergil]

This the language they speak in skyrim.

[@simianto9957]

It's Dutch 😂

[@nissangtr6357]

@@simianto9957 r/whooosh

[@DrRonArt]

This is more than just a public- or rhetoric-driven fear of terrorism; this poor man has been terribly traumatized, perhaps as a surviving prisoner of war.

[@1ksubscriberswithnovideos100]

I doubt that

[@icy7104]

For those who don't understand the film, let me explain it to you. At the start of the movie, we see the employee doing a crossword in a newspaper. When the girl arrives, he flips over his newspaper, and we can see an article about people dying in a skate rink. He was getting paranoid, the main in black clothing with the bag had a "bomb" in the news article, which caused many people to die when he pressed the button. In reality, the cords were phone charger cords. The employee thought it was a bomb, and his memory of the literal bomb going off days before that was getting to him, so he got paranoid which then caused him to have a panic attack. In doing so, his brain made him think a bomb had actually blown up, and had played a memory of the bomb explosion sound effect in his mind. It was in good definition as a memory, which caused him to take it seriously and think it's a bomb. But fully in reality, he was paranoid, and didn't understand it was his brain giving him half-PTSD on an event which took place earlier. In a nutshell, his brain made him think there was a bomb and a man going to set off the bomb, but it was just a normal man and his child, which you can see at the end the man is giving his child's borrowed hat back to the employee. So there is a full explanation in case you were wondering the purpose of this short film, and what the hell the employee was thinking.

[@rupertclint2061]

Nice Interpretation. But that girl was dead innit and that father was just looking like the employee. Is he having PTSD or Schizophrenia

[@zethraelofteldrassil3149]

Then, he sees a man at the bus stop, face covered, and with a backpack. He is starting to see a "bomb" scenario everywhere.

[@grapevinez6026]

Good depiction of the atmosphere of fear and suspicion that hangs in the air after terrorist attacks, leading us to stereotype people of a certain background when they are just people like anyone else. As always great shorts Omeleto 🙏🏽

[@Crick1952]

That's the point though. He's also of Middle Eastern background. Considering what's common here in the Netherlands probably Arab or Turkish. His Dutch is native so he was probably born/raised here. Despite that, the environment of fear makes him suspect even innocent actions

[@KuraIthys]

Moroccan most likely. Single largest such group in the Netherlands and often treated with suspicion. I know I went to school full of them when I was teenager...

[@insanezombieman753]

you're not wrong about stereotyping but he can't even see that dude's face. its got nothing to do with that.

[@hopefuldavid3320]

I think they're both the same race

[@mizscoleman]

@@insanezombieman753 I agree. I think having the guy with the bag be the same guy behind the counter was done to show that the guy with the bag was as much of a threat as the guy behind the counter i.e. no threat at all.

[@trinitylivingston1286]

Poor guy, he looks like he's seen a ghost! I'm starting to think that he probably has ptsd judging by the end of the video!

[@hadadmae3070]

The quiet kid in class when he's trying to get something in his bag the teacher: 6:22

[@pumpkineater6960]

I wanted that girl to just shut up the entire time

[@peterrodby2786]

Can the subtitles be any smaller....wait my magnifying glass would be of great assistance right about now.

[@user-df4zw7yb4v]

Looks fine to me

[@baguettelauncher8839]

white subtitles on white background .... they still make this mistake 30 years later ..

[@strivingx67]

It's really a different world today than the one I grew up in as a kid. Really enjoyed this movie.

[@biancaravizza1328]

I think this is about PTSD. Some visions he has about something he feels he could have prevented. I realised it when he calls for everybody to exit the ice rink and The girl says " No, you cant say that anymore"

[@rupertclint2061]

But she's dead innit

[@ananddhanola4623]

6:13 Guy pulls out a hamburger "Hey you want some ham?" "Uhh no I'm fine"

[@danielcrawford6645]

just realised the dud with the back pack was the dude in the booth

[@oussoblock7913]

Van appie, naar paus, naar man achter de balie

[@ainokea4u]

The 'suspidious' guy did nothing

[@mechanic9475]

When the man with backpack is sus 😳😳😳

[@somerandomfloor8560]

Wow I'm Some how early just randomly going through the videos lol

[@knzdespair]

I thought They person with PTSD and the other guy are the same. They're really looked alike

[@whats0my0agenda]

Cool! Semi transparent tiny subtitles. In a video with bright white backgrounds. Perfect. I almost made it past two mins of viewing.

[@cynical1746]

Mo Salah is that you?

[@ron7783]

G E K O L O N I S E E R D

[@strangerdanger6436]

They should've made the subtitles black it would've been so much it easier to read

[@showaltermicro]

Fear of his home town

[@ov_079]

Hij had volgens mij best kunnen zeggen dat het om een verdacht pakketje/tas ging, dan zouden ze wel wat sneller dan de ijsbaan af zijn ;)

[@germalliance2797]

Why did he see himself?

[@onweze1781]

This lady must be tired of caring this conversation on her back

[@cycloopnl]

Dutch, that's a nice surprise. Bedankt.

[@t1ttaes]

am i the only one who was hoping that guy was going to pull out a uno reverse from the bag

[@SCPEACEFUL]

The main character enjoys groups and people but is drawn to the potential fear of what lurks, whether real or imagined. His anxiety levels seem to be set really high and then when he senses danger his fear goes through the roof.

[@dennisking4589]

I think the bomb goes off when He realizes he cant say "Ladies" or "gentlemen" anymore....cause the world has lost its mind.

[@jerrick5061]

Ngl, he was just vibin’

[@emperorjacques7282]

Wow I didn't expect to hear some dutch in a omeleto video

[@lancratot5066]

The guy at the end of the video: ah sh** here we go again

[@idk_9964]

He can’t say ladies and gentlemen? 🤣

[@bramgierkink7485]

It's something called being "Gender-neutral"

[@sonquatsch8585]

i get it, but i am not so sure if its all his own insecurity. some of it MUST come from experience.

[@donnamariedavidson5065]

Yep. PTSD.

[@PhantomTrpe]

Why was he running on ice like its nothing??

[@chickenasaurus5095]

Look out! He's got a backpack!

[@justrosbief3828]

I was shocked when it was Dutch lmao

[@dashcrash1890]

Ok so I’m from MERICA so I probably don’t why but why is there a bench in the ice rink in the first place

[@helendancelot]

I wondered that

[@KAIisMYPROPERTY]

ACHMED! ♡ Really nice video, btw!

[@blap5630]

I felt so bad for the girl lol she was just talking to a wall

[@DrFudis]

I love how when he sees that the man in the black coat is himself that he doesn’t do anything cause he knows it just in his head

[@parriyuna199]

This reminded me so much of Paranoia Agent.

[@VeryAnnaBerry]

Those eyes!

[@arkyg4022]

Outside the bando man had a stand off the ting had an extendo show em how it bangs off

[@jmand6730]

That girl was such a weirdo why couldn’t he say ladies and gentlemen?

[@quintinbaker9901]

Jason D - We do not live in a world with only ladies and gents ;-)

[@jmand6730]

Quintin Baker xx gentlemen xy ladies anything else is a genetic mistake

[@lild6128]

I’m confused ass hell

[@matteogiancola9913]

This had me thinking of Admiral General Aladeen in the helicopter with nuclear Nadal in the Dictator

[@danysmith1451]

What actually happened was the black jacket dude was taking out what appeared to be strings (probably laces of ice skates ) but he was nervous so he couldn't actually. Our dude on the other hand seemingly has PTSD. The girl, she was interested in our dude.

[@adrevenue1496]

Rip the blonde girl who was trying to flirt with him

[@appll9804]

i wouldve done the same thing better to be safe

[@afcacbs8544]

Looks like The Paus quit the drug life

[@jakepayne8480]

If u saw that u wouldn’t think anything

[@jetflyer62901]

Who else was annoyed by that woman who wouldn't shut up, and kept talking to him and distracting him?

[@specimen-]

And a BACKPACK?????

[@katybecker4393]

Subtitles were too blurry to read...

[@ReniVlogs_]

I’m supposed to be getting dressed but whatever...I got my heater on to? It’s that Time of year again 😇😅 🥶 😴

[@josifz1046]

I really don't get what's happening here, does the guy have schizophrenia or something?

[@flxqra4107]

9:20, Millyrockin’?

[@bullshark3771]

Anyone else annoyed with the blonde girl and how she said he can’t say ladies and gentlemen anymore like it’s just a saying

[@snazzylizardz5041]

I get your point. I would agree with her in a more specific situation, though. (cuz I'm so gay and don't really know my own gender identity. :)

[@rgarlinyc]

Ve4ry compelling film - beautifully written, directed, acted and filmed!👏🏻👏🏻

[@Njx063]

Funny that this account also posts videos from different countries😂🇳🇱🇳🇱

[@MisterG2323]

Somebody needs therapy.

[@cahidijoyoraharjo7833]

You are your biggest enemy.

[@donnamariedavidson5065]

Not by choice.

[@svietka202]

using yellow font to type subs while she's wearing a yellow outfit is not a smart idea...

[@thebookdoc.writing.and.editing]

ambiguity is not everything!!

[@dylanclancy9697]

i’m literally so confused on what happened can some one explain

[@youxkio]

PTSD.

[@jakepayne8480]

How is a man with a bag suspicious

[@nismo29]

It’s been stereotyped that suspicious looking people with a bag could have some sort of gun or bomb because that’s what they typically carry them in.

[@azzy6159]

Bruh if I was him I would yell at the girl and say “GET OUT OF MY FACE”

[@trinitylivingston1286]

Same!

[@trinitylivingston1286]

@The Ranter what does this have to do with toughness?

[@beepboopbobop]

Congratulations! You’ve been fired!

[@trinitylivingston1286]

@@beepboopbobop lol

[@tyg7306]

wie maken deze nederlandse short films?

[@josephikrakowski3592]

wie kent die dude van het huis anubis?? enigste reden waarom ik op de video heb geklikt.

[@deepak-sf3xy]

That girl was totally annoying

[@bizzbuzz5190]

poor guy... he wold go mental now when face masks are compulsory

[@hunt3rmovin]

i was saying get out women when the guy was staring at him anyone else

[@zomg7906]

Why is she so talkative she anyone God help me

[@beatvonkarel2686]

lucky we have Soniphobia having replaced Isamaphobia

[@TRXLLGE]

My initial thought, that we was a terrorist

[@mintywolf0124]

spooky man

[@jason401.]

Can someone explain that last scene to me?

[@sebastiancartwheel6326]

My last brain cell: IT didn’t GO off BECAUSE Of LaG!??.,!.

[@masonnees8894]

I am like the most confused, is he schitsofrenic?

[@winterwind1169]

Well that sucked

[@treacherousjslither6920]

Wow that girl's really cute 😍

[@artivism4068]

Who else is a broke, aspiring filmmaker living in New York City itching to create a short film project to submit to festivals???? If that is you, then hit me up and lets work on something ASAP!!! A real cinephile here influenced by Lynch, Tarkovsky, Sternberg, etc

[@gantic4027]

Cna anyone explain what happened ?? My iq is too low to understand the film😂

[@flxqra4107]

Anxiety (The man was going through?)

[@KoKo-bo8zm]

Beautiful. Facing his own fears, mirroring himself.

[@VibezzCb]

I like your point of view 🙂🙏

[@KoKo-bo8zm]

Could be both. Mirroring his fears how people could perceive him because of media coverage, mirroring his fears how he potentially perceives himself. The suspicious guy at the end turns out to be himself (same actor). And could also be PTSD awakened by a trigger.

[@ogracid9883]

Its a bomber

[@xeliteunicornsx6592]

Gold Rose wasn’t a gunshot it was the bag having a bomb in it, he had ptsd most likely from a previous subside bombing.

[@eth4n580]

I thought it was ptsd

[@Jelle3007]

G E K O L O N I S E E R D

[@NigelThornbery]

0:57 today is the day I learned that the Dutch word for rhino is nosehorn.

[@voicelessglottalfricative6567]

Dutch is very similar to English because it is a Germanic language

[@AirsoftNLD]

neushorn gek

[@another90daystochangethis34]

Rhinoceros is Greek for nose horn.

[@AveTrainOnDaTrack]

voiceless glottal fricative that doesn’t make it similar, You can hardly call english germanic anymore it has so much french and latin influence, old english is closer to dutch and german

[@jayamber4448]

@@AveTrainOnDaTrack Only 30% of English vocabulary is derived from Latin languages. English is very much a Germanic language.

[@EliTasrev]

Never expected a Dutch short movie to be on here :)

[@davisssmusic2034]

Stan same

[@Crevulus]

There's a great one about a guy working in a food truck on the Belgian border who refuses a prostitute from a brothel. I think it's in one of their top lists.

[@NB_FILMMAKING]

@@Crevulus yeah one of my favorite !!! The guy with is motocycle working in the caravan

[@imonymous]

There's been several. I always share them with my girlfriend because she's dutch.

[@EliTasrev]

That means I'm missing out! I never knew, thanks everyone for letting me know, I'll check them out!

[@SquirtleSquady]

I do this to myself so often, especially when I'm walking home at night. You never know for sure

[@SquirtleSquady]

TheMatrix52 I’m sorry you believe in conspiracy theories, my mom went down that path after crystal meth addiction. Hope you can begin to see the world for what it actually is some day.

[@nickrameau938]

TheMatrix52 damn, this is a proof that you can work so hard people think you’re inhuman. That’s what I’m working towards.

[@imonymous]

@@SquirtleSquady I'm sorry your thread got hijacked by loons. I appreciated your mind response, for what it's worth.

[@SquirtleSquady]

Imon It’s all good man, I don’t let it bother me. Thanks for being nice!

[@nickrameau938]

@TheMatrix52 Go home son, you're drunk.

[@TheDxbrown]

Am I the only one who’s confused about why you can’t say “ladies and gentlemen”?

[@danielcostello4041]

WHAT! You want to assume someone's gender?

[@TheDxbrown]

Great use of sarcasm that didn't have to be explained. LOL!!

[@snazzylizardz5041]

"Ladies and gentlemen and no-genders and both genders and gender fluids and transgenders" It's ok, it took me a second to figure that out too. :)

[@corasimone8775]

@@snazzylizardz5041 just say "everyone" or "people"

[@TheGameFans15]

Because it's not PC mentally ill people wants to be recognized aswell

[@gachaspaghetti5920]

This is what I think The dude behind the counter is suffering from ptsd because if you see the Magizine on the desk you can see it says many deaths or whatever so that can reflect on what happened. The girl with the giraffe hat was probly dead since the many deaths on the magizine was what happened in that same ring.

[@wfwefwefwef9201]

@tinylilmatt the deaths weren't at the ice rink tf why would that affect their open hours

[@wfwefwefwef9201]

@tinylilmatt o didn't see he said ring my bad

[@NigelThornbery]

I drink bleach Person you’re right about the ptsd part but I doubt the girl is dead, where did the newspaper say it happened at the rink. I think they added her in there for dialogue and so it wasn’t a 10 minute long video of silence and a guy staring at someone sketchy with a backpack.

[@14sumz]

ye i think that the guy has ptsd from the day he was just having a normal work shift and a girl was talking to him and he saw a guy who wws suspicious and then boom the bomb exploded and everyone in the rink died? and the guy survived and the bomb sound haunts him every time he works and so does that man Edit : oh and also the girl who he was talking to died

[@ggraham2650]

Yes, I think there was a bombing at the rink before, like a couple of years ago or something and it gave him PTSD.

[@luckyjar4136]

Jesus, she talks sooo damn much!!

[@cahidijoyoraharjo7833]

I think she likes the guy. No girl talks that much without any reason in particular.

[@samuelray18]

Yah it is so annoying

[@VibezzCb]

@@cahidijoyoraharjo7833 bro ikr she might when everyone was getting of the ice look at the way she was looking at him 😮

[@Sparklingling]

She's really awkward too like god dammit she's so annoying

[@miguelcalvarido6155]

Like my seat mate in class I got in trouble because of him 😅😤