ALL THE PAIN IN THE WORLD | Omeleto Drama

A man tries to save a tiny fish.
ALL THE PAIN IN THE WORLD is used with permission from Tommaso Pitta. Learn more at tommasopitta.com.
A man, alone at Christmas, spots a lone fish at a pet store trapped between the glass of the tank and some seaweed. The man sees nothing but the fish's loneliness and pain, as well as the futility of its existential struggle.
He decides to bring the situation to the attention of the pet store owners, but is faced with their casual indifference. Dismissed with curt politeness, the man decides to rescue it. But the situation spirals out of control in unexpected ways, with the fish's fate hanging in the balance.
Writer-director Tommaso Pitta orchestrates a beautifully, subtly absurd short dramedy about struggle, pain and existence, charting one man's journey to save a fellow creature from suffering, only to come face to face with his own.
Adapted from the Michele Mari short story of the same name, the absurdity doesn't come from strange circumstances or an oddball cast of characters, but the way human beings can project their emotions onto situations, how they attempt to muscle their mindsets onto another and what lengths they'll go to in order to alleviate suffering.
The film's strengths lie in its writing and performances, which keep its emotions believable and true to the characters, whether it's the main character's sadness and loneliness or the pet store owner's crass, often glib responses to his increasingly agitated customer. Actor Peter Faulkner offers a deeply funny but emotionally resonant performance of a man who is lonely and sad, and who deeply connects with the suffering he sees in the fish. The apparent depression or sadness he feels is played with sincerity, but the increasing desperation and heroic intensity he brings in saving the fish makes for moments of comedy.
The man goes to extremes to try to rescue his fish -- an arc that is compassionate, sometimes violently emotional and unpredictably humorous, rendered in muted lighting and colors and naturalistic camerawork. For a film set in a bustling city, visually the short has a remarkable sense of isolation and quiet, and though it's not set in the middle of the night, it has a similar quality of disconnection and isolation.
ALL THE PAIN IN THE WORLD is in some ways a comedy of misplaced intensity, when a character applies intense force for what appears to be a slight, silly goal. But in the end, the man and the fish are somehow fused together, bringing the man face to face with his own sense of futility, sadness and helplessness. The ending is perhaps downbeat, but it works because it's realistic to the character -- and perhaps to the human condition in general. It's a moment of reckoning we all have to face at some point when we realize there's only so much we can control when it comes to the painful vagaries of human existence.

[@the_notorious_bas]

Now that's a righteous man.

[@pennylane7943]

To me, this man makes all the sense in the world. Absolutely understandable. Wish there were more people like this.

[@cyranodebergerac7962]

This's a good example that good hearts always have to struggle even for fixing little issues... That's why they live short life i guess...

[@pamelapower9253]

Excellent, thanks

[@yunusmohamed4072]

Brilliant movie

[@omanicc9854]

I love a passionate man.

[@taunja7915]

Poor fish. Glad he was almost saved

[@charlottebloch]

Love it.

[@SuperCHERISHED]

I support the main character. I also find it excruciatingly painful to watch suffering. Unfortunately there are many people that present similar to those store keepers. How do you making a living having no compassion for what you are caring for.

[@nicholasvanorton7840]

In memory of all the fish that continue to die off the eastern coast of the Atlantic due to those windmill monstrosities.

[@jopax66]

Hahah, that was really good…now if we could only care about each other that way,. :)

[@jay54929]

Updated Falling Down ❤

[@letitgog]

😢

[@jannariley3254]

Sorta sad 😢

[@Exodusfifteenthree]

Very interesting...
Kind of like the rich man that Jesus talks about in the new testament.
There was a poor man named Lazarus that begged him for food outside his gate.
He was very sick and the rich man did not help him with his medical needs.
The judgement - the rich man went to hell.

[@charlottebloch]

Hilarious in a poetico-grotesco way