Fark Video Player (13593434) Have you ever walked a goldfish? A whimsical 14-minute look at life, through the eyes of a depressed and possibly-psychotic office drone, and a talking goldfish. Not for everyone. but some on Fark will like it. An Omeleto video

WALKING FERNANDO is used with permission from Max Mir. Learn more at https://maxmir.work.

Nadia works as a travel agent at an agency. Though she’s diligent and hard-working, she’s also going through the motions, disenchanted with her work and unengaged by life. One day, she hears the office goldfish, Fernando, talking, entreating her to break him out of the corporate confines so he can see the world outside.

Reluctantly, Nadia takes the goldfish out, which becomes a longer walk around London and an opportunity to talk about life. As Fernando makes plans for his permanent escape from his glass bowl, Nadia begins to consider a break of her own.

Directed by Max Mir and written by Luke Norton, this warmly witty comedy short is both a whimsical, charming tale of unlikely friendship and a gently contemplative musing on the nature of happiness and fulfillment. With its unusual conceit of a talking goldfish — voiced by Oscar-winning actor Javier Bardem — the storytelling takes advantage of the gambit to inject understated wit and moments of silly charm into what is otherwise a story of quietly existential reckoning. Together, though, it all adds up to a delightfully philosophical experience that entertains as much as it enlightens.

Nadia’s malaise is set up with deft economy at the start, as she works at the office. Her demeanor is wan and bored, and her work is fine but perfunctory. She deals with a pushy and demanding boss asking her to work late, who offers the office goldfish for company, which kickstarts the film’s momentum. Fernando is assertive and lively, despite being a fish, and he convinces Nadia to take him out for a few minutes.

Those few minutes turn into a true journey, with Fernando pushing for more time outside. Bardem’s performance may be a voiceover, but it still conveys his charisma as an actor, and he makes Fernando funny, charming and vivid, exclaiming in excitement and wonder over even the most commonplace of sights and objects. As Nadia, actor Fabienne Piolini-Castle plays an initial annoyance, ennui and reluctance, with a preoccupation with her job that keeps her from really enjoying the present moment. But just as she’s ready to abandon Fernando and return to the office, she has a small but important revelation, experiencing a “strangely relieving” freedom, just as Fernando asks for his.

Those shifts in perspective encapsulate the themes of WALKING FERNANDO, which extols the beauty of a larger, wider perspective and experience of life. Nadia achieves that through a life-shifting walk, showing how happiness and fulfillment are pursuits. They don’t descend upon us as we do task after task on our to-do lists. Instead, we must be present and awake, and then we must be proactive in making time and space to make it happen. We may hit a few detours in the journey or come up against some obstacles — but they may also be prime opportunities to rethink and redirect our paths to something better.