Everyone knows what it feels like to be new to a group. This may come from moving to a new community, attending a new school, or getting a new job. In Yan Giroux’s short film [i]Surveillant[/i], the latter example is the case for a new employee at a local park (actually the one in Giroux’s hometown in Quebec). The film chronicles the young man’s first day working at the park and the troubles he experiences with the other teenagers who spend their days there.

The movie portrays the group of kids that hang out at the particular park as animalistic, in which they attempt to protect their territory from the new employee. The new employee is the “surveillant” of the park, which translates to supervisor. As the surveillant is making his last rounds of the day on the tractor, the group throws rocks at him, spit on him, and set off fireworks near his path, all forms of intimidation.

Actors featured in the film were said to have very little to no film experience; most were from the town in which they filmed. This gave the film a real and identifiable quality.

[i]Surveillan[/i]t is quite short, only seventeen minutes long, and it feels even quicker than that. However, it portrays a particularly interesting idea, one making a statement about humans and our social behavior—specifically teenagers. The group of kids that feels it “owns” the park bullies the newcomer seemingly for their own amusement. It shows that we as humans will do anything to entertain ourselves when we are bored just as these kids did.

The film uses a unique style, one contrasting with what is typical to today’s cinema. Giroux tends to use long, sweeping shots in place of short cuts of film. He also often enhances colors on shots, rather than desaturating the raw film captured. He stated that he wanted the audience to feel as if they were experiencing the movie, rather than just observing (as he did with the casting of the movie). His distinctive style matches this idea.

This short film is interesting: it is a unique and intriguing topic, but at the same time stunningly simple. Yan Giroux and the actors working on the film did a fantastic job of portraying what life is really like for bored teenagers in small towns of French Canada.