Retired mob boss Martino Francesco is living out his retirement days in the town of Can Picafort in the Balearic Islands. Enjoying the peace of the seaside in his apartment, Francesco is happy cooking his own meals and taking long walks by the sea. But the calm on the surface is not the reality of Francesco’s life in this seaside town. Nightmares of his past catching up on him, haunt. He sees himself being shadowed by unfamiliar figures on desolate paths in his dreams. During one of his evening walks, a couple of bounty hunters identify him from his past and want to get the bounty on his head. They trail him and soon he finds himself at the dead end of a narrow alley and also of his life. Confronted from both ends, the Mob boss comes face to face with the consequences of his actions over the years. He discovers that his life of crime catches up with him, no matter how old he is.
‘Not too old to die’ is a short film by Director Marcel Flock. Marcel’s story of the mob boss is set in a beautiful seaside town where life seems to flow at its own leisurely pace, unhurried and untouched by the pressures of the modern world. Marcel also uses lengthy shots of everyday life from Francesco’s routine to blend him in with the pace of the town. Juxtaposing these shots with visuals from the violent past, the contrast in the character’s circumstances between his past and present stare you in the face. Using Francesco’s dreams sequence to heighten the suspense and engage the audience is also a clever move that conditions the viewer for the endgame.
‘Not too old to die’ is an ode to the adage that ‘crime does not pay’. Marcel brings this maxim to life, comparing the boss’s picture-perfect retirement life with the dread he feels every moment. When his past follows him in his dreams and down the street, there is nowhere he can run or hide.
