Welcome back and thanks for joining me for the second to last Mubi Monday of the year! Today we have a Golden Bear Award winner for Best Short Film. So lets travel back ten years and take a look at…As Long as Shotguns Remain (2014).
Title: As Long as Shotguns Remain
Directors: Jonathan Vinel and Caroline Poggi
Released: February 7, 2014 (Berlin International Film Festival)
Runtime: 30 minutes
Available to stream: Exclusively on Mubi
As Long as Shotguns Remain (2014) follows the story of Joshua (Lucas Doméjean), a young man who is repeatedly forced to confront difficult decisions involving a shotgun. The film opens with a haunting revelation…Joshua’s best friend committed suicide using a shotgun. This sets the tone for a narrative driven by grief, loss, and moral conflict.
However, the pacing, while clearly intentional, works against the film’s overall impact. Rather than building tension, it feels sluggish, leaving some inconsequential scenes to drag on unnecessarily. This makes it incredibly difficult to fully invest in Joshua’s journey.
Speaking of, Lucas Doméjean delivers a solid performance as Joshua, capturing the character’s quiet turmoil. We get a sense of Joshua’s pain, but we’re never given enough to allow us to fully understand him. This lack of character development prevented me from forming a real connection, and as a result, the emotional stakes held no real value. Doméjean does what he can with the material, but the performance, like much of the film, is ultimately forgettable.
While As Long as Shotguns Remain (2014) has a premise that is full of potential, it disappointingly under-delivers.
Well, now it’s your turn.
If you’ve seen As Long as Shotguns Remain (2014), leave a comment below or reach out to me on Bluesky and let me know what you thought of it.
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I’ll see you next Monday for the final Mubi Monday of the year!