Brent Bonacorso has been delivering fantastical, heartsick CGI short films for a while now, and his latest drops a giant alien into downtown L.A.

The Narrow World riffs on the talking head documentary style but doesn’t cling too tightly to it. It features a young Department of Homeland Security researcher (Karim Saleh), a clinical psychologist (Julia Cavanaugh), a retired Colonel (Scott Bailey Gagain), and a giant alien moping around a major metropolitan center.

At first, its appearance and passive response to its surroundings is a Rorschach test that finds some hoping for great advancement, some gearing up for war, and some searching their own souls. More than a metaphor, the alien presence is also a vision of spirituality that conjures contemplation about what it means to be a tiny speck walking through a familiar neighborhood in the shadow of a massive, walking unknown.

The design of the colossus is fun—like a metallic, cycloptic flamingo—but the alien itself is a tourist in the plot. Simultaneously the center of attention for its characters, but not the focus for the audience. There’s a poetry to how Bonacorsa has considered the variety of responses to the event, and it’s anchored by strong, mystical CGI work and a deep, clear sense of longing among the tiny humans who fill the screen.

The short film also finds some intriguing directions as we get more information. There’s not exactly a twist; it’s more of a re-contextualization that gives the characters more life and demonstrates why Bonacorsa chose the faux-doc style.

Overall, it’s fun, contemplative, sweet, and lonely. A wonderful collage to immerse yourself in. It’s also hard to imagine King Kong wanting to fight this thing.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments section.

Images: Collaboration Factory