TOMORROW | Omeleto

A young boy befriends a stray dog.

TOMORROW is used with permission from Aryasb Feiz.

A resilient 10-year-old street urchin is growing up on the corners and alleys of 1970s Shiraz, Iran. His life is a hard-scrabble existence, trying to sustain his existence while securing life-saving medicine for his father.

While grappling with daily hardships, the boy meets a stray dog, who he bonds with. His friendship with the dog gives the boy solace and connection, and together the friends find hope amidst challenging circumstances.

Directed by Aryasb Feiz and co-written with Amir Zoghi and Kaveh Ruintan, this compelling Oscar-longlisted animated short strikes a fine balance, balancing a warmhearted portrait of the bond between man and animal with a grittier, even brutal portrayal of a deprived and difficult childhood. The result is an unusually resonant animated film that engages with the clarity and directness of its protagonist's emotions but refuses to flinch from the realistic perspective of the disenfranchised and impoverished.

There's a rounded familiarity in the CG-style character design and an autumnal warmth in the colors of 1970s Tehran that feels nostalgic and comforting at some times or melancholic and heavy at others, especially in situations where the boy is forced to deal with responsibilities and situations beyond his years. When he's in his father's room, the dark colors and dusty textures feel especially dank and claustrophobic, emphasizing how it's no place for a child to grow up. The design of the young boy at the film's center encapsulates this tension as well, and his expressions can veer from a wary, hunched-over huntedness to a childlike delight, which mostly comes in the presence of the stray dog he befriends.

The film has no dialogue, but its plaintive, expressive classical score underlies the powerful emotions expressed by the boy and his dog, ranging from fear to anger to expressiveness. The sweetest aspect of the film is the development of the friendship between the boy and the dog, developed with a touching economy and classic charm and relatable to anyone who has ever loved a canine companion. But when the stakes are raised for the boy and his dog and things take a serious turn, their fierce loyalty to one another becomes the most resonant theme, as well as the turning point of the narrative.

TOMORROW takes a dark, foreboding turn in its end stretch, building up tension and suspense as the tenuous aspects of the boy's existence turn sinister. But even when the film escalates into thriller territory, the emotional bond between him and his best friend never fails and indeed becomes the saving grace for the boy when faced with a dangerous situation. Even in the film's measured, triumphant yet bittersweet conclusion, that friendship remains the biggest consolation, even as the narrative refuses the usual fairy-tale happy conclusion for a more considered, realistic one. We aren't sure of the boy's ultimate fate, but we do feel comforted he has a true friend with him, to help him weather the even more difficult challenges he will likely face.