I didn't understand the purpose of this story. It evoked no emotion in me. I didn't amuse or depress me; I didn't know what to make of it.....yet this was oddly compelling.
I don't like depressing stories, and this definitely could be labeled depressing, as others have called it. I didn't find it that way. I just found it an interesting view into a character's life, in this a teen called "Justin." The kid lives at in a poor Brooklyn apartment home with his mom, who is about useless. She sits in bed and watches television all day, not even caring enough to put food in the house. The kid goes to the neighborhood convenience story, shoplifts a little bit and the kindly owner, "Mr. H.," asks if he would watch his dog for a few days while he goes away. Justin is reluctant but when the owner says "you can have the key to the store," Justin thinks "free food" and takes him up on it.
What happens after that isn't much, yet the viewer - at least, me - winds up very involved with this kid, and the dog, too. There is a dramatic subplot in here with a neighbor upstairs but I couldn't decipher what that was all about. The sound during those brief scenes, as Justin looked into the room, was very muted so I doubt I was the only one who couldn't understand what that was all about. I guess it will remain a mystery, and I think that's what the filmmaker wants.
"Mysterious" might be a good word for this short, animated film. I loved the black-and-white artwork. This has a distinctive look to it and was a part of the attraction to viewing this.