Prepare. Perform. Move on. These four striking words mark the beginning of transcendent short film The Lost Sword. Written and directed by Andrés Gil, The Lost Sword follows a ruthless hitman Gareth (Tom Conlan) whose life revolves around his work, until one particular job thrusts him back into a haunting past he’s been desperately trying to escape.
Gareth essentially fits the bill of the classic “assassin” type characters in standard on-screen depictions. Visibly lacking all form of emotion or empathy, he carries out his first hit of the picture with a cold mechanical fluidity. Unblinking as the man he’s about to murder begs for his life, the hired gunman pulls the trigger with zero remorse.
The atypical part of this particular portrait of a hitman at large is not his addiction to his job – nothing revolutionary there – but rather how the stone-cold executioner unravels from an unapologetically dehumanised start to a redeeming yet resigned finish.
(Read more of my review here: http://filmthreat.com/reviews/the-lost-sword/)