“Color of Anger” is a short film by Vishesh Sharma about a young man dealing with the effects of an abusive father. But how this young man deals with the pain is the crux of the story.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIFneMBhzKE

Jeremy Gallant plays Jim, the disturbed teenager, with quiet brilliance. Now when I say quiet, I mean it literally. Jim has zero lines throughout the film but certainly makes the biggest impact. Sharma uses several close shots to get us inside Jim’s mind. We see a kid dealing with the pain of an abusive father in two ways. One is through a rather typical route with drugs. But then we also see something far more interesting. Parkour.

Not familiar with parkour? The simpler term is known as freerunning, which is exactly what it sounds like. The person runs around jumping over, through and off of anything in their way. Jim uses his considerable talents in parkour to escape the confines of his broken home. Gallant is breathtaking in these sequences and it’s beautifully shot. Sharma told me this was Gallant’s first shot at acting, which I still can’t believe.

The only complaint I have is the ending (which I won’t spoil here) blindsided me a little bit. I liked it but I wanted more from it. I think focusing more on why the decision was made would really add another layer of depth. I would also love to see more of those amazing parkour sequences. They were so crisp and exciting that it bordered on poetic. And they were made even more alluring thanks to the score. Which brings me to my next point.

A discussion of “Color of Anger” is not complete until we talk about the music, done by the great Karsh Kale. When you a have a film with minimal dialogue, the music becomes so much more important and Kale’s music really carries this movie to new heights. The music is electric, subtle and engaging all at once.

For his first short film, Sharma has a solid if not fantastic debut into this world. I look forward to see what else he has up his sleeve. And unlike other shorts, “Color of Anger” is available to watch free online. Check it out below and let us know what you think.

httpv://vimeo.com/53528889