Tasked with taking a special delivery to another planet, a young warrior named Domicupus pushes through her anxiety to take the job. However, when she arrives, she finds is confronted by assassins looking to steal the package and end her life. What is the source of Domicupus anxiety, and can she overcome it in order to save her own life?
“Anxietus Domicupus: A Cup Noodles In a Flying Sarcophagus” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
“Anxietus Domicupus” embraces the spirit of freedom within the sci-fi genre, both in narrative and experimentation with design. Consequently, the micro-budgeted approach to the genre transforms into a lovely spectacle of DIY ingenuity. From the opening animation to the live action sequences, the short navigates through a shift in styles in a competent matter, and avoids a stylistic clash. Overall, the world that Gugun Arief is able to create under financial restrictions is a feat that will find favor with fans of sci-fi.
Where the film's ingenuity begins to falter, to a degree, is in using light sabers causing a shift in genre from sci-fi original to a fan project. While there is nothing inherently wrong with the genre of ‘fan film', it does betray the originality of style and tone that the production establishes in its opening. Even the best of homages can become sullied when taking elements from elsewhere. Ultimately, the use of Jedi tech hampers the overall ingenuity of the project, placing it into a genre that is not critically respected.
While the variations from animation to live action fighting sequences act as the film's greatest strength, it is bolstered by an equally eccentric and fun score along with sound design. In comparison, the voice-over work is muddied at points and could have been cleaned up, but under the DIY aesthetic there is more reason to focus on the film's strengths of when approaching audio.
Working with a relatively young cast, the short does not falter under the inexperience of the performers. Notably, Angel Anjani as the titular Domicupus brings a lot of confidence to her role reflecting the warrior she is meant to betray. With the film working in a clever way to include mandatory masks as both a plot device and a reminder to stay safe, the rest of the cast remains unseen but come together for a competently choreographed final action sequence.
“Anxietus Domicupus” is an inventive movie and uproars experience marred by its indulgence into the world of fan fiction. Setting the light sabers aside, the short proves that Gugun Arief is a talent to look out for with his ability to craft a richly diverse sci-fi world out of simple and affordable effect work. Ultimately, I had a lot of fun with this and I imagine the sentiment of sci-fi fans would be the same.
