√√ Last Seen – By Lindsei Barros – Short Film Review

Last Seen by Lindsei Barros is an emotional look into the reality that so many people had to face during the pandemic, of saying goodbye to someone through their phones. Set through following a young immigrant (Andreina Carvo) who listens to her father’s last voicemail.

We are first introduced to the nameless protagonist getting ready for work. She leaves a message for her father saying that she is working hard for a visa for her father and mother to come to America. Without giving too much of the plot away, the next message she receives is an emotional sucker-punch. I also liked the fact that the language was Spanish, giving the feeling of detachment for the Young Woman to her current location.

Lindsei Barros (Director) and Andreina Carvo (writer) work efficiently and well to give us the story between what is said. Although we never actually see the Dad (Jose Luis Useche), we hear his message to his daughter intercut with her reactions to it. The story is simple yet heart-breaking, and the choice to not show the father gives the distance that so many must have felt throughout the pandemic that had to say goodbye under horrible circumstances.

The cinematography is slightly dulled and bleak at the start of the film with the Young Woman getting ready for work. This changes to a bright and luminous background, with public locations as she listens to the voicemail. There is a distinct lack of private space throughout.

Perhaps the choice to have no name gives the ambiguity of relatability, that this young woman could be any one of countless people that found themselves in this position during the COVID pandemic.

All-in-all, Last Seen was a wonderful short film with lots of nuance and an incredibly emotional impactful story, told very efficiently in the short form.

We very much look forward to seeing where Lindsei Barros goes next!

This has been FFN’s review of Last Seen By Lindsei Barros.