THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (Movie Trailer)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Movie Trailer

Film Directed by David Fincher, 2008, 1 min. and 44 seconds.

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFk0T0eQonw

When I think of short films, movie trailers first come to my mind. I have seen several film trailers that I think could be treated like short films, and the trailer for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is no exception.

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" tells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who ages backwards. The trailer chronicles his life by featuring short clips from each scene of the movie. Each scene shows Button gradually getting younger while the other characters get older, and features important moments in Button's life (being orphaned, walking for the first time, leaving home, his first romance, etc.).

I chose this trailer for the narrative theme because I think it is just that: a story. With barely any dialogue (at least any that indicates what's going on), the viewer sees an entire story, or in Button's case his entire life, unfold in less than two minutes. The lack of dialogue is just one aspect that makes the trailer alluring to me. I especially love the whimsical music that plays beneath the video ("Aquarium" by composer Camille Saint Saens), which gives the entire story a sense of magic and wonder. But I also love that through editing, you see just enough of the film that you can gage what the story is, but not too much to discourage you from seeing the full-length film. That there is the key to a great movie trailer, in my opinion.