Wow! Such a good movie.

Excellent but underrated film

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

"Genesis" is a half-hour, 1998 short film written and directed by Spaniard Nacho Cerdà. I watched his film "Aftermath" before this as, according to IMDb, these two belong together. I have to say, "Genesis" is certainly the better of the two, so the director has shown some progress. Sadly, this is only because "Aftermath" is really a very very weak excuse for a film and not because his work here is good. Anyway, I am not too sure if it is a sequel anyway. The only real parallel I can see is that the main character is played by the same actor. Oh yeah and both films don't have any spoken dialog either. But the main character is working in other professions, has a wife in one and a dog in the other and there are just not really that many similarities I believe.This film's biggest strength is probably that it's nicely atmospheric. However, 30 minutes is simply too long for the action depicted in here. 15 max would have been fine. It's a bit of style over substance. A widower mourns the death of his wife and tries to create her out of clay. As you can maybe guess from the title, he is successful in the end after initially there was nothing but a bleeding sculpture. Well. I guess he was already on the right track there. This film got quite some awards recognition, but I wonder why. Cerdà has not been too prolific since 2009, but he has some upcoming projects listed in his body of work, so it seems he is still in the industry. Hopefully these will show further improvement. About this one here, not recommended.

It's best if you approach this short without knowing what to expect. Then you can immerse yourself in the journey that it takes you on. In particular, the use of colour is brilliant. Genesis is washed out and if colour is used it is mostly weak sepia tones. This serves as a stark backdrop to the occasional, yet perfectly timed, splashes of vibrant colour. Reds, greens and even flesh tones are heightened to a level rarely seen elsewhere.The slow and deliberate orchestral score provides the only narrative to this piece. Not that it needs anything else. This is all about exploring how much the artist (both the director and the lead character) is willing to invest in their art.I can see why this would be too slow for some, but anyone who feels that way is missing the point. Accept it for what it is and you will walk away enlightened, like any good piece of art should.

Genesis (1998) is a very original Spanish movie from Nacho Cerda who also directed "Aftermath", i think out of the 2 films this one is much better, "Aftermath" just seems to be a sick little movie with no plot!! This film is about a Sculptor who's wife dies tragically in a car accident, the guy loved his wife so much and is totally shattered, so in her memory he creates a life size sculpture of her, but crazy things start to happen, the sculpture starts becoming human, it starts to bleed and more skin appears, as this process is going on, the man starts to turn to stone!!! Very bizarre i know but it's only 30 minutes in length and remains entertaining during that time! Seek it out if you like foreign films that are sad and powerful and very different!!! 7/10.

After watching AFTERMATH - I didn't know what to expect from Nacho Cerda and GENESIS. I personally did not like AFTERMATH, not due to it being "disgusting" or "shocking", but because I just didn't get the point. I feel that AFTERMATH has been severely over-hyped due to it's subject matter, and that while it was a beautifully shot film, it just didn't have anything going for it, in my opinion. Not so with GENESIS - although the subject matter was not nearly as controversial, and there is very little in the "gore" department, GENESIS is one of the most well put together, hauntingly beautiful films I've ever seen. Not only is the camera-work itself crisp and clear, but the score and sound FX are absolutely perfect. The short centers around a man (Pep Tosar from AFTERMATH)whose wife is killed in an auto accident. He lovingly recreates her in sculpture, and the sculpture begins to come alive. As the sculpture of his wife begins taking on flesh and blood, the sculptor himself begins to turn to stone. GENESIS is not a "horror" film in the strict sense of the word. It is more a tragic love story dealing with themes of life,love, loss and death. I really don't know what to say about it, other than it is a real gem of a film and shows what a great director Cerda can be if approaching the right subject matter. Even though I personally was not at all impressed with AFTERMATH, GENESIS on the other hand is a masterpiece of a short film and makes me really want to see what Cerda will do next. Highly recommended 9 1/2 out of 10