By Omeleto
.
.
Alex is an aspiring pro swimmer and a typical young man in many ways. He puts in hard work at the pool and hangs out with friends at night, coming home to an apartment and his cat Miriam.
When his house cat turns into a human woman overnight, the two develop a relationship, even as Miriam tries to find her place and identity in the human world. But she must confront her paralyzing fear of water or risk losing her relationship altogether.
Written and directed by Melanie Easton, this charming short romance mines the whimsical premise of a cat turning into a human woman with a lightness of touch and a certain cheekiness. The winsome but insouciant tone of the fantasy strikes its balance at all levels of the storytelling, from the luminously lovely visual naturalism to the performances.
Part of the story’s charm is how it takes Miriam’s arrival in Alex’s life with a certain matter-of-factness: it doesn’t act as if Miriam’s transformation is an everyday event, but it treats it with as much curiosity as a new neighbor moving in. Both Alex and Miriam accept the change in Miriam with gentle befuddlement. But having already established an easygoing companionship in their earlier carnation, they accept this new development with a certain equanimity, though life remains the same. Miriam still sleeps in the bed with Alex, as she did as a cat, and she still loves canned tuna.
With an effervescence generated by the pop music score and the nimble editing, the film tracks Miriam as she discovers certain fun aspects of human existence, like sparkly, sequin-covered clothes and, more importantly, a romance for Alex. Watching their relationship develop is a sweet, heartwarming process, like in many romance stories. But that growth is challenged as Miriam rubs up against certain feline aversions as a human. Like many cats, she’s deeply fearful of water, which makes it hard for her to support Alex in his aspirations as a swimmer. She must confront that fear — and ask herself if she’s more cat or more human — to save her relationship.
Most of “Aquaphobe” has a deft lightness of a modern fairytale, and the film seems to percolate to an equally bubbly conclusion. But in the last turn, it shifts into something more suspenseful, dynamic and even powerful, deepening the emotional register and raising the stakes. When the dust clears, it offers a moment of resigned wisdom — a recognition that we are who we are, and no relationship can alter that, no matter how much we wish it.
Transcript provided by YouTube:
[crowd cheering]
Go Alex!
Yes!
[cat meows]
[music ends] [door slams]
[cat meows]
Hey Miri.
[cat purring]
Mm.
Shit.
Good morning.
Good morning.
Uh
Sorry I was really wasted last night. I’ve completely forgotten your name.
It’s Miriam.
What?
Miriam?
No I heard what you said. You just have the same name as my cat.
Uh
Look I, I gotta get to training. Do you want breakfast or something?
I…
am your cat.
Right.
Look, I’m sure last night was fun and all but I’ve really gotta go, so…
[jingling]
No…
Look!
So if you are my cat
tell me something nobody else would know.
You haven’t had a girlfriend in over two years.
And you sing jingles in the shower.
[singing] Hey Joe
[singing] how do you keep the prices so low
[singing] They’re secondhand, well you wouldn’t know
Oh no.
[Miriam chuckling]
[♪ ‘I COULD EAT A FULL PACKET OF YO YO’S’ by Heaps Good Friends plays ♪]
[bird squawking]
[box closing]
[meowing]
[dog growling]
[Miriam hissing]
[music ends]
Goodnight… Miriam.
So, um
I’ve decided what I want to do with my life.
I’m gonna be
an animal behaviourist.
Courses start next week.
That’s awesome. I’m really happy for you.
So, uh
my coach thinks I’m gonna make Nationals this year.
That’s amazing news!
Oh, uh
your… your breath.
Oh, um
sorry.
So I was thinking you could, uh
come watch me swim sometime.
Meet the team…
I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.
It would really mean a lot to me.
Think about it?
[tap squeaking]
[water rushing]
[mobile phone ringing] Hey Joe
[mobile phone ringing] How do you keep the prices so low
[mobile phone ringing] It’s secondhand, well you wouldn’t know
[mobile phone ringing] Hey Joe how do you keep the prices so low
[mobile phone ringing] You haggle, come on
[Miriam gasps]
[loud water rushing]
Why the pillows though?
I don’t know.
I panicked.
I’m sorry.
That’s okay.
Make a funny story.
I don’t think it was funny.
Tell me the story of how we met.
Really?
Hm.
Okay.
Um.
It was a sunny morning
in the springtime
October I think
and
I decided to make a cup of tea and drink it out on my balcony in the sun.
I stepped outside and there you were.
There I was.
The next day you were there again.
Mmm.
So I went to the shops and I bought canned tuna.
That’s my favourite!
[Alex chuckles]
How did you know?
Ahh
Just a hunch I guess.
And then I never left.
I have an idea.
What if
we go out to drinks with your friends tomorrow night?
You could take me to that bar you love.
Okay.
It’s a date.
[♪ ‘BIG SKY’ by Bjéar plays ♪]
[music fades out]
Hey guys.
Hey how’s it going?
Ah, is this the mysterious new girlfriend we’ve been hearing about?
Uh, not so mysterious. Just, uh, busy with Uni.
So how did you two meet?
Ah it’s a bit of a long story.
Let me guess, online dating?
I – I used to be his cat.
What?
I used to be his cat.
[group laughter]
It’s a joke.
Funny. It’s good. Funny.
So are you coming to the meet next week Miri?
Uh no, I – I don’t think so.
That’s too bad. Work?
I’m afraid of water.
[group laughter]
Oh cuz of the cat thing.
Seriously, you’re hilarious. Where did you find her?
[general group chatter]
Do you have to be so weird in front of my friends?
I’m not weird.
I’m honest.
Okay… fine. You’re both those things, but
I think it’s pretty weird that my girlfriend is not there to support me at competitions.
Well of course I support you.
Just… from afar.
You can sit in the stands. You don’t need to go anywhere near the water.
Come on Miriam, this is really important to me.
Oh and if I freak out in front of hundreds of people?
What, that won’t be weird?
You’re building this up in your head to be way worse than it is.
Look. Come to the pool with me tomorrow morning.
We’ll go really early. It’ll just be us.
[glass smashing]
[shouting] What the hell Miriam?
See this is exactly what I’m talking about.
For the last few months you’ve broken every other dish in this house
you won’t let me buy cucumbers for some reason and there’s a dead bird in the backyard.
Can you at least try and do this one thing for me?
[shouting] I am trying!
Are you a cat or a girl Miriam?
[♪ ‘WHAT IF THE LOVE DIES’ by MANE plays ♪]
[shouting] Miri!
[splash]
[music fades out]
[Miriam breathing]
[Miriam inhaling]
[♪ ‘WHAT IF THE LOVE DIES’ by MANE plays ♪]
[music ends abruptly] Alex!
[splash]
Hey, you okay mate? Hey. Hey. [coughing]
[♪ ‘WHAT IF THE LOVE DIES’ by MANE plays ♪]
—
This post was previously published on YouTube.
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