Cargo is an Australian short film from 2013 where it short listed for Tropfest and was a finalist. Since then it has attracted over 11 million views on YouTube and has been featured on Die Zeit, The Week, CNET,IGN and Film School Rejects and is set to be released as a feature film in 2017.
It is set in a zombie apocalypse and is about a man whose wife becomes a zombie and he goes on a journey with his baby to find safety. However, he himself has been bitten and he knows he hasn't got long until he completely turns into a zombie and possibly kills the baby. Therefore he works out a way to stay focused on walking and protecting the baby so they can find other survivors. The film ends with him being shot and the other survivors finding his baby like he had planned.
I first watched Cargo around the time it came out after I was introduced it by my sister and instantly loved it. However, I hadn't heard anything about it for a while afterwards so began to forget about it up until earlier this year when it was announces that it would be made into a feature film staring one of my favourite actors, Martin Freeman.
I like the film because it is a unique story. It is unique by the way that it tells a story that has been told many times before but from a different angle and makes us think about things we haven't thought of in this situation. We have been shown many films about zombies but it is very rare for them films to create such an emotional impact on the audience that you end up respecting something you would see as a villain.
There is very little to say about what could be improved because there was very little to be improved. I think the ending could have been explained and developed more so we had more of a story about what happened to the baby afterwards. Also possibly how they got into that situation in the first place which I think is going to be explained further in the feature film.
In terms of the acting and directing, I don't think they could have done anything better then what they had. The acting was amazing from all characters and it helped move the plot forward, definitely from the Dad, Andy Rodoreda. He managed to tell the audience his slow transformation into the zombie without using dialogue or relationships with other characters other then the baby. I think the directors decision to have a lack of dialogue definitely helped the emotional impact because you became completely focused on what you were watching and the use of silence and occasional cry from the baby helped create tension and suspense.
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