However, not all feedback was positive. A review from the Japanese site MYK-W described the film as "very shocking" and criticized its cheapness and lack of explanation for certain plot points. Another reviewer on IMDb wrote a scathing critique, stating the film lacked passion and suffered from bad humor and cheap CGI, calling it a waste of time.
If you're searching for the 2016 short film Passion , you're likely looking for more than just a plot summary. You want to understand its themes, its style, and why it resonates. While a mainstream, widely-distributed short film with this exact title from 2016 isn't a major studio release, the name points to a common and powerful theme in independent cinema:
The director cited Andrei Tarkovsky’s The Sacrifice and Gaspar Noé’s Enter the Void as primary influences, aiming for a "sensory assault on the idea of romance." The result is a 22-minute fever dream that refuses to classify itself cleanly as horror, drama, or romance.
The carved out a unique niche in the independent festival circuit. It is frequently discussed within the context of contemporary French thrillers for its thematic focus on human fragility. By combining elements of a ticking-clock thriller with an exploration of primitive instincts, Arthur Vernon delivered a short film that examines the consequences of choosing personal gratification over collective duty. Passion 2016 Short Film
Passion is a thriller at its core, but it subverts genre expectations. The narrative is a race against time that ultimately becomes a meditation on immediate, all-consuming desire versus collective responsibility. The protagonist’s choice is shocking and morally complex. The film asks whether "passion"—in this case, a sudden, intense romantic or sexual attraction—can override even the most fundamental human instincts for self-preservation and group loyalty.
: Marco Horanieh (Odobam), Laure Massard (Marie), Alain Leclerc (Rob), and Ludovic Berthillot. Cinematography : Michel Abramowicz and Vincent Jeannot.
However, the narrative takes a sharp, surreal detour when the scientist encounters a woman on his journey. Instead of riding past her to fulfill his heroic mission, he stops. The film discards the urgent thriller framework and shifts entirely into an intimate and extended encounter, trading the salvation of human lives for immediate, individual connection. Cast and Production Details However, not all feedback was positive
Vernon promotes a philosophy of hedonism based on human biology. He believes that romantic love is a temporary biological illusion, as the production of the passion hormone "luliberine" is limited in time. Therefore, he advocates for the sublimation of the sexual act and for people to seek pleasure in the moment, free from the constraints of morality and guilt. This philosophy is the bedrock of Passion , as the main character chooses a moment of intense physical pleasure over his own survival and the lives of his colleagues.
We watch Alex fail. Over and over. Ten minutes of runtime dedicated to the banality of repetition. It is boring. It is supposed to be boring. This is the part of passion nobody romanticizes—the 4:00 AM alarm, the bleeding blisters, the loneliness of the rehearsal space. The camera doesn't cut away. It forces you to feel the tedium.
Every short film has a birth story, and "Passion" is no exception. Directed by an emerging auteur who chose to remain largely out of the spotlight (fueling further intrigue), the project was born from a simple, almost cliché question: What would you burn your life down for? If you're searching for the 2016 short film
Director Kim was motivated to make this film by a profound personal tragedy: the death of her younger sister. She channeled her feelings of trauma, sadness, anger, guilt, and frustration into a choreographed work that serves as a tribute and a path to healing for herself. The dance movements were inspired by Italian Renaissance paintings and sculptures, specifically the iconic image of the Pietà , which depicts the Virgin Mary mourning the body of Christ. The film shows a woman "lamenting at the edge of madness" while a man supports her, preventing her from falling into complete despair.
One of the scientists manages to consume the only existing dose of the antidote. Played by Marco Horanieh, the protagonist flees the lab on a motorbike. His goal is to reach a facility to manufacture more doses before the virus becomes fatal to his colleagues.
Performances and characterization