The concept of Christmas, despite the fact that it has become more and more international as globalization takes over the world, is still a somewhat divisive one, since not all countries celebrate it, at least not as we do in the West. Mitsuyasu Saki implements this ambiguity in his short, in order to present a message of unity.
“Orbital Christmas” is screening at NFMLA Monthly Film Festival – InFocus: Asian Cinema
The story begins in the near future, when Ali, an Indian Muslim astronaut, is spending his Christmas alone in a space station during Christmas, as the rest of the crew are on Earth for the holidays. Eventually, a rather unusual cargo arrives in the station, in the form of a Japanese girl, who picked up an unmanned cargo ship from the Moon where she lives, in order to go to Earth and meet her father. The shuttle was the wrong one, however, and now she finds herself spending time with the bitter, cynic Ali. Even worse so, a bomb attack by terrorists in Narita airport has caused complete blackout of communication in the area, and her father is nowhere to be found, as a female handler informs Ali. Desperate Takako tries to board another pod, and is stopped in the last minute by Ali. Feeling her despair, he decides to cheer her up by making a gigantic Christmas tree floating in the vicinity of the space station for the girl to see. Furthermore, he raises a large banner that can be seen from Earth, with a message for Takako's father.
Mitsuyasu Saki directs a film that aims at presenting a very distinct message about unity, despite religion, race, age or nationality, with the Japanese girl and the Indian Muslim being the main “advocates” of the message, and Christmas, an ideal “excuse”. The way Ali changes through the interaction with the girl, and even more so, the finale, wrap the short on optimism, in a way that is naïve, but at the same time will probably leave a smile on every viewers face.
Truth be told, the story is somewhat cliché (the bombing of Japan is painfully so), and the almost constant use of music, too Hollywood, particularly in the way it tries to dictate the mood of each scene. On the other hand, Mitsuyasu Saki's intentions are so kindhearted and evident, that is quite difficult to hold any of these faults against him. Even more so, since the SFX and the CGI here are of excellent quality, particularly considering that this is just a 13 minute short, with the use of green screens resulting in a series of genuinely sci-fi sequences, with the Christmas tree and the banner being the ones that stand out the most. Lastly, Kaori NeVille is rather likeable as Takoko while Ryan Shrime's transformation as Ali quite amusing.
“Orbital Christmas” has its faults, but in the end, emerges as a competent short that manages to rise high above its issues, leaving a smile on its audience's face.
