The 2020 Netflix short film Two Distant Strangers, directed by Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe, tells the story of Carter (Joey Bada$$) won Best Live Action Short Film in the 2021 Academy Awards. This 30-minute short film explores the important topic of injustice in a very brilliant, profound, humorous, and intriguing way.
We are introduced to a young man Carter James (Joey Bada$$) and Perri (Zaria) lying next to each other in a bed. When he leaves, an NYPD cop named Merk (Andrew Howard) puts his life in danger. From the minute Carter wakes up until the fatal confrontation, this keeps happening. No matter what Carter does, nothing helps, and his nightmare continues.
The protagonist repeatedly tries to travel back home to his loving dog. Each attempt fails, which then causes the day to start over. It uses a time-loop structure to show the harsh treatment imposed on African Americans by American police. In every loop, the officer shoots him. As the film progresses, he makes several attempts to fight fate, including following the cop’s orders and trying to begin talking with him. But no matter what he does, he always ends up dead.
One might wonder why he still wants to go back to his pet even though he gets killed in every loop by the cop. A conversation with his dog through a gadget that remotely gives it breakfast and has a camera and microphone is when one first realises how close he is to his pet. This creates an emotional bond between them and gives their relationship context, enabling us to comprehend his love for his pet and the reasons behind his decision why he wants to be with his best friend.
Everything in the movie was brilliant, including the screenplay, locations, casting, and cinematography. The film makes you realise what an unjust society we live in when you realise that you can survive one moment and then be killed the very next for no fault of your own. I believed the movie to be a fitting tribute to George Floyd of Minneapolis and the countless others who die every day due to the use of excessive force by police worldwide.
