Weekends is a 2018 animated short film (15 minutes) directed by Trevor Jimenez.
It is a story about divorce, set in the mid-1980s. The central character is a small boy living in Toronto, who spends his weeks with his mom but on the weekends goes off to stay with his father. Given the total lack of communication between his parents when he's picked up and dropped off, they are most definitely not Amicably Divorced. His mother seems more businesslike, studying accounting, while his father likes to watch cheesy kung fu movies and play video games. Each parent acquires a new mate. The boy for his part has to navigate a life now defined by a broken home.
Tropes:
- Comforting Comforter: The boy draws a blanket over his mom when she falls asleep in front of the TV.
- Dream Sequence: Some surreal dream sequences. One shows an empty robe at the table pouring coffee for another empty robe, probably symbolizing his parents while they were still married. In another scene the boy dreams of his mom's new boyfriend with a birthday candle growing out of the top of his head, which eventually catches him on fire. This is followed by scenes showing the mom and the new boyfriend have broken up.
- Dutch Angle: This effect is used in the boy's second dream sequence, involving the new boyfriend for mom, underlining how this has disturbed the boy's life.
- Eiffel Tower Effect: How to show that the movie takes place in Toronto? Show a bunch of shots of the CN Tower.
- Gray Rain of Depression: It's raining and the mom is smoking cigarettes after breaking up with her boyfriend.
- Katanas Are Just Better: The father appears to be Japanese—either that or he's just a huge fan of Japanese culture. Either way, he decorates his wall with katanas and lets his son play with them.
- Leitmotif: Whenever the father comes to pick up his son, "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits is playing on his car stereo.
- Limited Animation: Although Trevor Jimenez is a Pixar animator, this short has a hand-drawn, limited style where the backgrounds are rough sketches and only a few things are usually moving in frame.
- Man on Fire: A disturbing dream sequence involves the mom's new boyfriend with a birthday candle growing out of the top of his head. The man eventually catches on fire and melts.
- Parent with New Paramour: The boy has to deal with this from both parents. The mother eventually has an upsetting breakup with her boyfriend. The father's new girlfriend may or may not be the reason that he moves away.
- Riddle for the Ages:
- The mom is shown receiving flowers and chucking them in the garbage. Who sent them, the dad or the new boyfriend?
- Why is the mother in a neck brace, and what, if anything, does it have to do with the divorce?
- Silence Is Golden: No dialogue is spoken in the short.
