Bringing Home Peter

  • Melissa Morley
  • Max Lee
Bringing Home Peter is the first of two technical demonstrations of the up and coming company Little Grand Road and as much as we can acknowledge our ability to perform well, and under pressure, this film will serve to provide an original standpoint to our company.

Bringing Home Peter is a claustrophobic slice of life drama with a hint of mystery between a returning soldier and his wife. But all is not as it seems as the United Kingdom is in a state of war, reminiscent of the first and second world wars. Candles light homes, regardless of their class, rationing is in place, kitchens are sparse places and all electronics have been requisitioned for their precious metals. The experience of the supposed war takes place far away from the country but the BBC Home Service conducts regular broadcasts across the country.

There are fleeting moments of joy, romance, anger and suffering between husband and wife, Peter and Renee. Renee spends her days in the darkness of her home confirming the deaths of thousands burned as names upon pieces of paper. Peter spends his time back, drowning himself in books and attempting to cater to Renee’s wellbeing. Like the environment they find themselves in, neither are what they appear to be.

Tonally, the short film is washed clean of colour, greys persist just as silence persists. There is an uneasy, surreal feeling that exists, but its source is not pinned down until the end. The silence turns what could have been a once vibrant city, a once vibrant apartment and a once vibrant couple into ghosts, former shells of themselves.