Title: Tribes
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Director: Nino Aldi
Starring: Adam Waheed, Jake Hunter, DeStorm Power
Runtime: 10 mins

What It Is: Three men of different races attempt to rob a subway train full of people. Soon into their heist, it becomes clear that none of them want to rob anyone who shares their race. In an attempt to salvage the robbery, the men try to find the people in the subway car who they don’t identify with and target them as their victims. In their efforts, they realize that self-identity is a bit more complicated than they thought.

What We Think: Watching the first couple of minutes of this short led me to think I was watching one thing and then soon after, the story was turned on its head and I was watching something completely different. The sharp turn from heist flick to satirical comedy was truly wonderful. The important message at the core of this film is craftily shrouded, yet still visible, under a veil of comedy. The plot, though arguably dull, is entertaining but the acting and writing are really what make this short come together. It’s probably no coincidence that it’s a trio of robbers at the center of the story given the importance of threes in comedy and all three actors shined in their respective roles. If you need yet another reason to watch this short, the ending was the best of any film I’ve seen in a while and was the perfect punchline to the overarching setup of the film.

Our Grade: A, Yep, this short is top-notch. It’s easy to laugh along at the antics of the three hopeful robbers, knowing you and the rest of society are being called out. It’s a bit harder to actually process and digest the true takeaway from this short in hopes to better yourself as a person. After all, one doesn’t generally assume a viewing of a ten minute short is going to hopefully end with you becoming a better person—but this has the capability of doing that. It’s a short that has fun conveying an important message and you should absolutely watch it.