You know how you've always fancied knowing more about the art of mime but never knew where to go? Well, this is the documentary short for you, as it joins a class learning and performing "mime". To be fair, the film is worth a look if you (like me) assume that mime is all about the movie cliché of the guy dressed in black and white, pretending to peal a banana while he ponders how to get out of his box. Actually, the film tells us, mime is much more about expression without words, of transcending what you know and producing something more akin to a dance, but with more freedom and exploration to it than that.
The problem with Mimos though, is that it didn't manage to convince me. Now, part of this is on me – because I am not someone prone to "performance" or "expression", so watching some of the stuff in this short just made me be uncomfortable or chuckle a bit. I get that the people are sincere, and there were moments where I admired the control of their bodies, but also the freedom of their movement – however mostly I just thought it was a bit silly, and nothing I really heard or saw changed that at all. The contributions from those involved are fairly obvious and don't really help the viewer get inside their art, while the footage itself is mostly going to affirm what you already think more or less. It is professionally made from a technical standpoint, but as a documentary it really doesn't explore the subject or provide enlightenment to it, so much as just present it and let the viewer decide – and really this is not a subject where many viewers will appreciate that approach.