CLASSMATE | Omeleto
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ต.ค. 2024
- A homeless man runs into a classmate.
CLASSMATE is used with permission from Javier Marco. Learn more at langosta-films....
John is a homeless man riding a bus one evening when he catches sight of a woman getting on the bus. He strikes up a conversation with her, recognizing her from elementary school. At first, Emma is wary, but as she and John talk, she warms up to him as he evokes their shared childhood and past.
But as they talk, John's over-eager efforts and sometimes inappropriate efforts to connect make Emma wary, and as they catch up, she feels uneasy and guilty at their differences in fortune. She's an engineer and happily married, and he's homeless and struggling. By all accounts, she holds all the cards. Or does she?
Directed by Javier Marco from a script written by Belen Sanchez-Arevalo, this compelling short drama deftly takes one random encounter between a man and a woman on a bus and uses it as a springboard to explore societal power dynamics, economic status, guilt and obligation. Told masterfully through simple but powerful, almost doc-like visual storytelling and pitch-perfect dialogue brought to life by elegantly precise performances, it constantly plays with expectations, teasing them out only to subvert and upend them.
This balancing act is driven by the character of John, the homeless man who attempts to create a connection with Emma, whom he apparently attended elementary school with. He initiates and then attempts to connect with her, but she is guarded and wary at first. But John also possesses a kind of self-awareness and even charm, slowly establishing common ground.
Actor Jimmy Shaw finds a balance between guilelessness and a more wily canniness, as John is constantly observing Emma's every reaction, occasionally unsettling her with an off-putting statement before scaling it back, often with a seemingly honest recognition of his inappropriateness. As Emma, actor Melina Matthews alternates between a closed-off guardedness that thaws out and then becomes prickly again. As she navigates the conversation, what also emerges is a kind of guilt at her own mistrust and a desire to be a kind, nice person. She oscillates between opposite internal impulses, giving the scene an ambiguity that rises in tension.
As Emma and John talk, what emerges is an unspoken dance, especially as tension builds and viewers question just how genuine or trustworthy John is -- and just who holds more power in the situation at times. Emma may be successful and secure in life, but John plays upon her desire to be nice and the guilt about her privilege at times. At the end of CLASSMATE, we get all the answers to the questions raised during this fascinating dramatic short, but we're also left with questions for ourselves on how we feel about it all.
If someone claims to be a former classmate without mentioning the name of the school, GET OUT!
Creep. Her first question should have been, "What school did we attend together?"
Nobody is recognizable from third grade in their twenties. Nobody.
Your last blanket statement is not accurate.
Excellent response to the initial question, though!
Yeaaaah, nooooo. Sorry your projecting your own thoughts and biases onto the 'all-encompassing population' A typical widespread mistake
He's in his 50s
this guy is clever when it comes to human psychology ,
I am, because I have a baby face, LOL.
The cynic in me sensed he was a scammer right at the start.
but it was entertaining. I've paid scammers if the story they told was entertainment. We do that all the time if we go to a theater.
@@johanneskingma this was totally theatrical 😂
@@johanneskingma That's right; it's based on knowledge, so we do it willingly. There is no comparison when someone is literally manipulating you for their own benefit. None, whatsoever.
He was so good tho. But he has charisma 😅
We all guessed that right away…
No one remembers anything except John, John has great memory.
He is the real victim. Everybody up vote for John!
@@eugenetswong Nope!... he's a con artist... he went for the deep and lost... and now he shoots fish in a barrel...
@@user-McGiverI agree with you. I was just joking.
YT needs a sarcasm emoji LOL@@eugenetswong
It would probably still go over my head. :-
D@@theblackflame4002
That definitely is an uncomfortable situation to be in. As a woman, I think even more so. I would not have the heart or the courage to say, no you cannot sit beside me. Not remembering someone and letting them sit beside you, that is invading your personal space and he knew that. It was him trapping you in. John, definetly has charms that makes you not have the heart to tell him to leave you alone. He spies a vulnerable woman and goes after their empathy. He is a charmer, a smooth talker and manipulative. Loved that ending.
As a man, I'm reading what you're saying and it reminds me of how men and women walk on the same planet, but we walk in different worlds. Even if I thought that I knew somebody from way-back-when, the moment she made it clear that she didn't know me I'd just stop. So many women are raised to be polite first and above all that when somebody pushes, they just keep trying to be pleasant. This guy knows that and uses it. This really exemplifies why so many women (rightfully) won't take a chance on talking to a stranger.
She gave permission for him to sit next to her. It's a public bus anyone can sit anywhere they like. If there was no other space available it would even be rude to refuse. He did not commit a crime. He didn't ask for anything. He is a con artist and skilled at what he does.
The kiss on the cheek floored me. Even if I let him get on the seat next to me, which is like 0.05% likely, his lips were not getting anywhere near my face. John John or no John John. I lost that naive female politeness eons ago. This World is different - savage.
@@estephaniap9027yo no le dejaría sentarse a mi lado . Y menos darme un beso , te doy la razón en todo . Es un tío pesado y mal educado .
@@wilkopebesma It was not in her nature to say no. She gave permission but it was an uncomfortable permission. He targeted a person who he knew would not be firm in telling him to leave her alone or that she did not feel comfortable for him to sit beside her. It has noting to do with, if the bus was crowded and it would be rude if she refused. It also has notihng to do with that it is a public place and he can sit whever he wants. It has to do with the fact that you are coming into someone's personal space. A con artist does not have to ask for anything as you saw. He made a situation very uncomfortable for her, inside that is what she was feeling. If that happened to me, I would be polite and just wish inside that my stop would come soon. I have been in situations like that where somoeone was polite but there was that underlying umcomfortableness, It is such an awkward place to be especially being a woman.. Even though, there maybe others around that feeling of being not at ease is there. He took advantage of that vulnarability.
Plot twist : He met another girl who went to his high school! What a small world😂
He's playing mind games with people.
His not i was in the class who can forget emmas laugh 😂
@@zadition9095Didn’t he call her Jodi at first? Who can forget Jodi’s laugh… except Emma.
He's converting the world 1 person at a time, an embodiment of the Mandela effect. One day, he will die, and his face will be on the front page. The reporter will write that they were best friends in middle school. Everyone that sees the newspaper will say to their spouse, "Hey, I knew that guy in school." He will have the world record for most funeral attendees, so big the ceremony overfilled the Central Park.
Good short about social engineering technique (he was not lying 3:00 when he said "I am an engineer too" - a social engineer) and how people don't think about basic security precautions. It was painful to watch her not paying attention to details, like he never called her by name while this would be the most natural behaviour if he actually knew her. And she could have taken initiative by asking few most basic questions, like names of teachers and other classmates.
Good observation! I never noticed.
He did call her by name at the very start and again when she got off the bus
@@unarmedblackguy No, he never called her by her name until she said I'm Emma after he kept saying "I'm John, you don't remember"
My memory is so bad.
How bad is it?
How bad is what?
I remember taking the city bus to work early in the morning. It was 6 AM and the street lights were off, it was so dark that I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. There was an older guy who was there in the dark who said "I'm here, don't be afraid" we couldn't see each other until the buses headlights shined on us. He worked at an Auto Body shop painting cars... I work across town at a Print Shop. I had to transfer at the Shopping Center, it took me 1 1/2 hours to get to work on the bus. If I had a car it would take 10 minutes. If I walked it would take 3+ hours. I was gone for at least 12 hours a day because I couldn't afford a car, and because I didn't have a car it made it difficult to do many things that other people take for granted. Like grocery shopping, going to the Bank, Post Office, Library and Laundry Mat. 😢
Life is difficult for people without money. No one knows how difficult it is unless they have experienced it.
There is an ongoing attempt to not only preserve, but to intensify those feelings of transportation anxiety. It's good for us, it motivates us to improve those conditions. It's good for the economy . Work harder, work longer, and scratch until your nails bleed or cause other people to bleed, just buy that car and pay that insurance, and yearly registration taxes. And as the ancient princely saying goes "keep those hunting dogs hungry, and never let them hear you say that, Leona".
A master manipulator
He knows how to expoit both a womans fear and nurturing instincts
Called it. Though gotta give him props for the approach.
its all fun and games till the girl used to be homeschooled
"oh my god, it must've been a different emma im so sorry"
Well done, with the most likely plot twist at the end. Which does not reduce the beauty of it at all.
exactly mann...same my words. I also predicted this as one of the probable endings but it doesn't break the flow of story
I agree.
He did remember her forehead vein.
@@aakashmehta3961
He probably knows her from childhood
He knew her forehead vein.
@@justingary5322
But how did he know her name??
This should also serve as a reminder not to have your (or most especially your children's) name Clearly emblazoned on your bag.
Someone already knowing your name, subconsciously lowers your guard.
Someone calling a child by name when approaching them, makes them assume the person is Not a stranger.
Be mindful when "personalizing" your items.
Better yet, use another name of a child not in our family.
My mom is definitely of your school of thought! Unfortunately for her, no one ever kidnapped us! 😂
@@hollyperrin7353 😂
Use a code word like Apple555
She told him her name
That was creepily uncomfortable to watch, especially as a woman. Very well done! 👏🏼
This was so creepy. Like, what do you do in that situation? He's not threatening anything; there's cause for alarm but there's nothing to witness. Ugh.
He’s creepy. Like even if he insisted that we knew each other I would ignore him and move seats if I had to. Especially if he said he remembered me from third grade…
typical scheme we see in Indonesia everyday :))she shouldn't have mentioned her own name first and should have asked what school they attended
The one line that breaks all barriers and personal space. The one line that creates guilt and willingness to help lol. “Omg You haven’t changed at all, oh wait…..don’t you remember me ?”
I be like “nah”
Creepy dude.
He would be creepy if it were true, but luckily, he’s just a con man.
The actor looks like William H. Macy
A YOUNG William H. Macy.
A cross between William Macy & Kevin Bacon
He has his craft perfected. There is no way he can actually be homeless.
Con artists are the worst
Clever using old school tactics to hustle people out of their money.
I read this as “Clever using old school tactics to hustle people out of their memory” 😂
Time for me to go to bed lol 😅
@@saesae8806😂😂😂 It’s both!
this unlocks my new fear... i don't even remember my real classmates 😂
Remarkable, skillful acting! 💯
I totally would have fallen for the scam too. I'm too emotional
Do you remember me?
We went to school together.
Your laugh is unforgettable… even though you went through puberty since we last saw each other.
hello, you.
What school bro? I dropped out if I can remember 😭💔
I truly felt sorry for him--until the plot twist at the end.
"Plot twist"?! You didn't see it coming a mile away?!!! It was so predictable. Wow.
That´s the problem. It was dead obvious it was a scam from the beginning. SHE told him his name. She never asked what school they went to, teachers, mutual friends to confirm....
@@wassupnomesayinYou said it.
He was a weirdo from the beginning wit his corny ass jokes
as soon as she said her name, I got what it was all about but it didn't spoil it for me at all:)
And this is why we don't engage with vagrant strangers on the bus.
No, this is not why we don't engage. This film is mean spirited and wrong, but from the enraged post Reagan generation that has never known what the New Deal was all about and has never know an American landscape without homelessness. There once was an America where we really didn't have such a national catastrophe. But Reagan changed all that and gave a huge tax cut to the richest bast--ds. I just bought a homeless young man dinner in Bakersfield a few days ago; he looked like he was starving to death. This film makes people feel like it's OK to turn their backs on the homeless. Shame on you all for your ignorance.
I admire your impulse to defend the homeless, but I believe you're making a number of assumptions here, including (but not limited to) the nature of the filmmakers and their intentions, as well as the true nature of the protagonist. Where's the proof he's homeless, for instance? All that's really deonstrated is that he's a clever grifter. His type has been around for a long, long time. @@edbenti5007
@@edbenti5007 Nobody cares about your emotional obsession with Ronald Reagan's Presidential America.
Your films have a profound reality to them. The viewer has the choice to interpret.
So cool. Thx 👍
Yeah, going for the Rorschach effect impressionistic modern pop art cop-out, or making a statement? Alas Yorick, that is the question. Shakespeare had the excuse of preserving his head to justify being vague in the production of his presentations.
That was so good! John was sketchy and believable!
Insane stuff as always. Bravo 👏🏼
brilliantly awkward ...
The actor was in a spanish serie called: la que se avecina; as Matthew
MOLT FORTTTT
Creepy, chilling. I get the twist, but don't understand: how does John know Emma's name?
By constantly repeating his name [1:10] I think she felt pressured to say hers or it accidentally came out because she was nervous.
She said her name at the start after he introduced himself. Nothing he said was something that you could easily dispute, so honestly pretty smart.
@@4LayersOfStrength
Thanks. I missed that
@@caseyrayback203
That was my initial takeaway, but the commentor above corrected me. See 1:32
But she did.
@@caseyrayback203
Though the guy is creepy he is a master manipulator. And, at the end of the day, no one got hurt. All his former “classmates” are left with a warm fuzzy feeling that they helped someone
Great story line, acting was superb, well done all.
I had a feeling it would end the way it did but still very well done.
Damn
He was a good hustler😮 he has a full time job doing that, after about a week so doing that he'll be able to retire😂
i actually predicted the ending , first time ive done that with omeleto , as soon as the first lady got off the bus and he said you dont remember me emma then i knew , but then again did she actually tell him her name? i need to watch again ,
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I don't remember you. And also that I have a poorly-masked British accent, and you're clearly an American."
And yes: if he wanted that to go better, he would've started off with "Emma?"
...which he couldn't do, because this was a "cold read" scam.
Oh, how I have wanted to watch an episode like this!
Now I have, thoroughly enjoyed it.
10 thumbs up......
Survival instinct is our best defense, along with that 'fight or flee' thing.....
This guy should have been a politician, at worst, or a CEO, at best :)
As one long ago Australian politician once stated "Life, wasn't meant to be easy"
😥
The turn is predictable but very well applied. I loved it.
What turn? The part where he ended up seeing another classmate? His family moved around a lot, so Tina was maybe from a different school.
What the turn would be was 50|50 in my analysis. It all came to which she was being targeted specifically or by random opportunism. Do I feel this way due to failed misdirection or by achieved foreshadowing? Only the production team can answer that question, if they choose to...
@@hollyperrin7353 I think I expressed myself wrong, I should have said that I could sense the final twist. But I must admit that I thought it was going to be like this when he got off the bus. Even so, I still think it was very well done.
@@skalfilms I was trolling; just being sarcastic as though I naïvely believed that he happened upon another classmate. Wow! What an amazing coincidence! 😉
@@hollyperrin7353 hahaha oh!
Street Survival Skills...
When you're on the street, you learn to grift. Usually you learn long before you end up on the street, and often it's part of the reason you're there. And - surprise, surprise - there's a good many that make hundred's or thousand's a day. There are those legitimately homeless because of circumstances, and then there are those who would simply prefer to spend the money they do get on things other than rent & utilities. And "legitimately" is not quite the correct word, as if you choose to spend on "things" other than a home, you certainly do have legitimate issues. But I'm assuming most people can get what I'm trying to say, given the extra explanation.
I sussed him out immediately...very well acted Mr. Shaw!
If we went to the same junior school, how come we have COMPLETELY different accents? The chances of that are very small.
Because his family moved around A LOT!
"There's a sucker born every minute, and two to take 'em." -- P.T. Barnum
There's a very good chance that this guy is living high on the hog with his perfected con.
This film is wrong on many levels but to be expected from a generation born after Reagan.
😅😅😅 He's a trickster.
Swindler*
Predictable. But well acted.
No mention of teachers or even the school name???
Another girl that John knows from high school 😂
I would’ve started talking to him in a thick accent. “Small world mate! Which school and which country was it?”
Not a chance with me. Im just gonna ignore the ish out of anyone..
Right? Once he started to press me, I would have moved seats lol
Ayoooo🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣…. This was a real good one
At first i thought the dude was just a stalker, but i guessed the twist toward the end because the dude seemed super manipulative. Good short!
Well there you go, everyone has their own method.
Advice to all women, here's the complete text of what what to say when someone you don't know approaches you in public:
.
No.
.
It doesn't what they say, if it's a question on any topic under the sun, or if it's a statement or an observation not a question -- the complete answer to what comes out of their mouth, whatever it is-- the complete answer is: No. Then immediately if the person doesn't take No for an answer, calmly move away, preferably toward a group of other people.
Dear young women especially -- there's _never_ a good reason to be 'polite' to a stranger approaching you. Never.
Someone who had to make it in a competitive professional world probably weathered a bit of social persuasion with high stakes. She wouldn't typically be so easily manipulated, and to such a degree.
Also, I expect the con man to misjudge prey sometimes, and he would get thrown off the bus and become a known entity in the neighbourhood.
Real good! Great actors! 🤩
Swear I’m not bragging, maybe because I’ve spent half my life being a con artist and manipulator, but I knew where this was going 3 minutes in.
It’s wild cuz she doesn’t remember… because it didn’t happen, but she’s let her guard down and just going along with what he’s saying to make him feel better but he’s perfectly aware he’s making it all up…
frank gallagher prequel
So he's a scammer, I get that, but if all he wants is some money its at least an interesting way to get it, I'm sure if he just asked he'd get turned down. I wouldn't say he is necessarily a bad guy or a creep though it's hard to confirm with just the short film.
That's clear from the beginning
Knew it.
I'm the type to doubt and grill them with questions to see if they are legitimate.
No way I would just take their word for it.
Absolutely not. This short just reaffirms my notion of not giving grown men money. As a woman, I can go out and get it which means you can go out and get it.
Mind to self: Trying to be nice makes memories dull and forgetful to ask critical questions...
Wait, what in the world! Just goes to show that one needs to have the same level of resolve that he had trying to convince others that they were classmates. If you know you don't know someone, just be like hey look dude or gal, you're mistaken, and just try to get away if you can."" 🤪🤭
This scenario happend,s so often one classmate is some one and the other is no one but one is free the other is not.
Silver lining
W Rizz
Wow he's smart with that con!
its a very small town. That was Johns first bus ride after living in streets for decades.
What a disgusting hustler. In real life the victim would ask the driver to throw him off the bus.
This dude is TRYING so hard to be Kevin Bacon.
I thought he was Kevin bacon at first
Well acted.
The man reminds me of Tom Waits.
Wow public transportation and the homeless sure are scary and dangerous!
That's old school scam tactics. Lol. Master of psychology and emotion.
I have to look out for this type of "old friend " on the bus next time.
Wait a minute. I know that actor. He hasn’t changed at all. :-)
this is exactly what joe goldberg would have done if he was homeless.
I kinda guessed that it was his way of cheating n modern begging, but how does he figure out their names though? That is super inconsistent.
She told him her name and John is a super common name
Ok,, so I predicted this whole thing. Of course, in real life this would never work. Cute story though.
Of course it could work in real life
@0.04 . Notice the makeup job on the hand, and the presentation of the hand using the thoughtful well done pose by the actor.That's some heavy duty foreshadowing right there! Crank up the anxiety.
I must have missed how he knew her name?
She said it first.
At 1:36 she said it after being pressurized.
I bet she even didnt noticed herself that she gave it away. Had to watch twice too
He can't fool the other one. She looks 21 😂
Interesting film. Geat performances.
Some bums learn how to become great con artists.
He did remember her forehead vein, though.
No he doesn’t. It’s visible even when she smiles so he noticed that and used it later in the story.
Ah, OK. He is a conman, then.
@@itsgoingdown_im_yelling_timber
What school did we attend together John 🤔?
omelessto
I actually felt sad for the homeless man even if he is just an actor and he probably lives in a nice home or apartment. There’s plenty of homeless like his character. I encountered a lot of them when I visited San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Paris, France. Hopefully they’ll find a home.
Thank you
I was aware he was a player running his game from frame one. My speculations were about whether she was a specific target or whether he was subsistence hunting. Was he a Sigma wolf or a well-trained hunting dog working for some Alpha psychopath? He has Special Forces, at a minimum, engineering qualifications.
Saw the end coming a mile away.
That dude looked way older than her. He looked like a 50 yr old and she looks 30
Living on the streets makes you age
it was kinda obvious of a plot twist, I must say
This is a great short film. If the truth be told, the short films are a whole lot better than the stuff that comes out of Hollywood.
Professor Yecats!
Not homeless, a rich conman