No Wave is mystery short which depicts the strange events happening to a man who has trouble sleeping.

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In a room with all curtains drawn, a man tries to find nighttime rest listening to ocean waves on the radio. But he wakes up in dismay when he hears the cries of help of drowning men. He calls the radio in a state of panic to signal the possible tragedy, but he is treated with suspicion: the sounds are pre-recorded and no disturbing noise could have been left there. The voices on the phone question his mental status, but soon he is grabbed from his bed by masked men.

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The perception of the spectator is manipulated through the audiovisual and narrative devices of a modern noir. The film is dominated by the changing tunes of the original score, which makes me think both of the works of  Bernard Herrmann for “Vertigo” and also of Mica Levi’s music pieces for “Under the Skin”. The fluid camera movements give the spectator the illusion of a ghost-like presence haunting the cinematic space, while the various points of views suggest the state of fear of the main character and his escalating turmoil. The color palette dominated by blue hues and the cool lighting enhance feelings of imminent danger. The protagonist gives a well-paced performance, gradually escalating his panic and paranoia when the radio station people he contacts by phone are cold and cynical. However, the dialogues lack structure and meaning.

 

The story has an interesting twist, we hear the main character's voice crying for help in the background of serene waves.

 

The visual style is composed of various types of shots and points of view that merge into a dizzying dance, but the author makes use of rather cliché alternatives in order to build atmosphere, especially through images of anxiety-inducing props.

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Though featuring one location and one character, this film has a highly-charged atmosphere that keeps the viewer on the edge of his seat. The film is a representation of nightmare, where the deepest fears and concerns grab our imagination and take the form of unlikely events resembling reality.