Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!
Plot Summary: A man gives his girlfriend a coin a day for 90 days in an effort to convince her to marry him.
Review: Full disclosure: this was yet another requested review, but, as always, I will give completely honest coverage. Likewise, there are a few caveats to address. This is a short film and a romance/drama--neither of which are my usual style. However, I love to showcase Asian cinema in all its forms so I can easily make exceptions. Also, as this is free to view, I will provide a link to the source, giving anyone the opportunity to take a look and draw their own conclusions: http://www.vimeo.com/143267832/
I'm going to tackle this film a little different than normal as a short is a different breed with unique traits to evaluate. So...one thing that struck me off the bat that was done extremely well was jumping right into the meat of the story. Amateur shorts typically waste time with extended title screens or other unnecessary scenes. Here, the events begin rolling in a quick pace. In fact, it may have been a tad too fast and heavy on cuts. Nevertheless, this full usage of the running time is to be commended and demonstrates a solid direction. Another major positive is the high production quality to both the picture and set aesthetics; this gave the impression that the short was of feature length quality.
As for the story itself...it's mostly straightforward with your typical dorky guy trying everything under the sun to woo some unimpressed chickadee. His strategy is to offer his girl a coin every day for 90 days in the hope that she will be willing to marry him by the end or part ways. It's simple and effective but not out of the realm of similar romance plot lines. The girlfriend character is cute, but she's not worth this much effort. Sorry. However, what surprised me was the direction of the ending. It's vague whether or not the girlfriend is interested in some French guy, but, either way, the boyfriend suspects there is something going on which inevitably leads to their break up. Later on, the girlfriend is moving to France when she stumbles back across those 90 coins and realizes there were messages with each one. Upon reminiscing about their romance, the girlfriend is heartbroken. But, the change-up is that, instead of miraculously getting back together through shenanigans, the film just ends with her realizing she fucked up and threw the love of her life away over virtually nothing. Not going to lie, that is a fitting ending that is much closer to reality than the bullshit you see in mainstream movies. I'm sure this bitter ending will rub many people the wrong way, however, it saved the story for me and makes this short stand out among an ocean of cliched romances.
Overall, I wasn't expecting much, but this was really good by short standards. There is no screwing around with pretentious shots or wasting time with background exposition; we are simply brought right into the action which keeps going without breaks. I do think the editing borders on seizure-inducing, yet, I can see this working for the ADHD audience of today. Thankfully, the other technical aspects are done well enough to compensate. The story is nothing extraordinary--it gets the job done--but the ending is either going to make or break it for a viewer. For me, as a cynical bastard, it works wonders. For others, I can see it hurting the final impression. Since it's free and only running about 8 minutes (without credits) I don't think anyone would regret giving it a view.
Notable Moment: When the boyfriend arranges for a song dedication on the radio, and the girlfriend thinks it's stupid. I guess I just like that some convenient store guy was in on the scheme.
Final Rating: 6.5/10
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