Beware film spoilers ahead!
So to confirm… You have seen Hush and Shim at Salisbury Arts Centre or have been to http://www.vimeo.com/user3746782 and seen them there? And you're dying to know what stories they were adapted from? Well continue reading below for spoilers!
Tells the story of a young woman starting a new life in England with a job at a hotel. Communication with her boss is difficult and Mary later finds a hidden room that brings the coworkers together.
Hush is based on the Frances Burnett novel The Secret Garden. Written in 1910, the story tells of an isolated girl who finds a hidden garden which helps her find meaning in the world.
Our story is filled with references both subtle and clear. In Hush, the secret garden is a laundry room, which coworkers bring objects to, helping to build their rapport with one another. Coworkers bring significant items to help create a cumulative emotional state that reflects the original story’s garden being tended in secrecy.
On closer inspection, Hush uses the original character names (Mary Lennox and Colin) on their work badges as well as referencing Mary’s trip from over seas which in the original story helps cement her isolation. In Hush, the communication is not just a new lifestyle for Mary but also a language barrier.
Finally as Mary get stronger in the original story, she makes friends around the garden including a red breasted robin. The coworkers in Hush act as both the gardener as well as the robin from the original story; working in the hotel, helping in the secret room and wearing bright red tabards.
Colin’s character changes visually trough the adaptation but his core element remains. In the original story, Colin is a small boy who the residents treat as a though he is about to die but who we later discover, is physically able. In Hush, we meet Colin as an incapable boss who is somewhat socially handicapped. Through his awkwardness the hotel workers find Colin difficult but later discover that he is not incapable at all, he merely needs the olive branch of communication that the secret room provides.
Tells the story of a young man desperate for attention who gets his dream fulfilled and becomes an escapologist’s apprentice. He tries to change his attention seeking ways but his mentor cannot stop his cries for help and thus, teaches him a lesson.
Based on the popular Aesop fable, the Boy Who Cried Wolf, Shim draws its inspiration from classical roots. The story was popularly translated into German and in many versions the Shepard is a young Germanic boy. In Shim, Ralf Shepard doesn’t have a flock of sheep to look after, instead he oversees his masters stage performance; the Great Hammel – German for a male sheep.
Names aside, Shepard struggles in a far more modern approach in the adaptation. In the original story, the boy seeks attention and calls to the villagers who learn not to trust him. In Shim, Shepard is uncontrollable but walks a grey area; his role is to imply danger to the audience but his delivery always leads others too far and becomes lies.
Aesop made sure to concrete his morals in his tales, killing the boys flock. In a modern spin, Shim has Hammel teach Shepard his lesson directly, after humiliating him but proves that in a modern environment people lie all the time, truth is important but also circumstantial.
For further information watch our behind the scenes video on the link above.
Finally a huge thanks to all the cast and crew who made this possible and to Salisbury Arts Centre for the opportunity!
Stay tuned to www.videoloft.tumblr.com for our next upcoming projects!
