This anthology is like the first warm summer breeze that sweeps over you after a long cold winter. It is refreshing, gentle, and so enveloping that it makes you feel good all over. This anthology is composed of 4 unrelated love stories told so delicately that you might miss the intensity that lies underneath each of their love stories. Overall, these stories are nimbly told with no overused drama, no destructive love triangles, or cheating plots. It is solid stories with excellent acting in each. All four-love tales are different in terms of poignancy and message. Some are meant to be quite powerful while others are presented as examples of slices-of-life contextures. Each saga is composed of two episodes of about 10 minutes in length each, which makes for easy viewing.

Every story is unique. The first story is the softest one. It expresses the transition of two friends out of the zone of friendship and into the land of bromance but not yet ready to be lovers. But in a sense, want to do that. Sometimes feeling sad about the past yet anticipating being able to be together in the future. It is the laying of the foundation to maintain each other in their lives in such a way that it will build throughout their lives and one that can be and will be accepted by their families. Why? Because, it will be merely a natural product of their deep friendship.

The second story involves time travel in the most creative and interesting way imaginable. Through a rainbow multi-stringed bracelet that seems to have magical and mystical powers. Each counter clock turn of the bracelet restarts the time allowing for a new explanation of an uncomfortable chain of events. Until, there are no more twists to be had. Yet, there remains one more turn of events, unexpected, that creates just the ending that is desired. A beautifully twisted story of love.

The third story is certainly the most dramatic and traumatic. It is such a familiar story of someone coming into your life, fleetingly, and then disappearing. But not all is at it seems.

The fourth story seems to be the most misunderstood and the least liked, which is unfortunate because its message is quite real. It was misunderstood perhaps because many did not understand its reference. Each story has a theme, and this one was “you look so beautiful Sunset Boulevard.” Unless you understood it was referencing and referring to the anthesis of the classic movie “Sunset Boulevard”, it might have all escaped you. If you get that, you will quite possibly enjoy this snippet a lot more. It is subtle but obvious. While not as dramatic as the movie obviously, it symbolizes the agony of love lost but the regaining of it with marked verve; something desired in the movie but never realized.

Any one of these stories can perhaps be your personal favorite. For me, the third story is because it is the most heartfelt of the four. It is the story of loneliness but by happenstance two young men deep within its throes found relief albeit for just a moment. Hamin (Kim Hyeong-seo lives by himself but gets a call from his mother that a son of her friend is coming to spend time with him for a short period. Hamin is quiet, serious, and studious, but Jungyeon (Nam Seung-yeon) is the opposite. Bubbly and outgoing and inquisitive. Initially, there is a tenseness between them. But then Jungyeon reads Hamin’s diary since he left it under the pillow he was sleeping on and learns that Hamin finds him interesting enough to “catch his eye”. While uncomfortable and also angry about this violation, he is still thrilled by it. As they get to know each other better, one day Jungyeon leans into him and kisses him. These two play their parts with such subtlety and yet intense conviction for such a short series. We begin to suspect that something is wrong with Jungyeon when he completely disappears, leaving a note ‘something has come up’. Although he further states he will return, he never does. Hamin resumes writing his diary again until he finds out the truth a year later. So much is conveyed between the lines in this particular section that tells you more than what was actually said. It was on the effectiveness of the acting of these two fine performers that the real power of this saga is felt. Its solitude. It will hit you. It made me weep.

Obviously, this eclectic medley of mythos is quite a gem. It does not go deep; that is not its intent. It is presented as a reflective picture of four different ways to fall in love. One, softly, gently, almost unnoticeable. Ordinarily, if you will. Two, wishful thinking it so with a happy ending. It is in our own little world; our fantasy. Three, a reality ending perhaps all too often. I dare say more times than not, many of which we may never find out why one never returns. The fourth is about reuniting and falling in love again with a first love. Representative of the love that got away, but we got it back. In a sense, perhaps the most powerful of the four in terms of romance.

For cinema short-stories, this is one of the best I have seen. No doubt there is a relatable love fable that almost everyone can identify with in one of these segments. Which one is yours?

Rating- 5 out of 5

Streaming on- GND Studio YouTube Channel