Beat

In their video film, the young makers of Beat, a low-budget production made in Rotterdam, look for a specific mood among their contemporaries, of whom an increasing number work too hard and are sent home with a burnout. Beat is the story of such a 26-year-old urban professional -his name is Peter -who apparently seems to have everything. He works for a marketing company, his career is going well, he has friends and a girlfriend. But one day, a couple of projects don’t run so smoothly. His boss sends him home and to the company doctor. Some rest and healthy life will do him good, they think. But without Peter realising, things only get worse. When he wants to go back to work after a month, things go wrong again on the first day. He stands up and walks out of a meeting, like a zombie. He doesn’t know what’s wrong. The lengthy and calmly shot scenes, that suggests stylistic examples have been sought in Asia, make it clear that the film makers are not looking for a case study, but want to evoke a mood. And they succeed wonderfully well, partly thanks to the convincing soundtrack.