Wow! This is an astonishing and brilliant film that will leave you breathless and undoubtedly lachrymose. Without doubt, this is also a short film (about 30 minutes), perhaps like no other you have ever seen before. I am not sure how to describe it. To be sure, it is open to all sorts of impressions. Mine of course would be no more correct than anyone else and therefore it would be unfair to superimpose my conclusions on how I saw this rich cinematic tapestry. However, you will get a hint by the words I use throughout this article as to how I saw this apotheosis. Undeniably, this story has been crafted to be open to interpretation.

All I can tell you is that it is a narrative of lost love between Nghiem (Mai Vũ Luân) and Hai Au (Trương Cao Khoa). Two alluringly handsome young men who are both deeply pensive souls. The drama is told cryptically and almost like a stream of consciousness. It is obviously an allegory. Nothing makes sense as a whole but the individual segments feel right and are strangely relatable. But you end up asking yourself, “Can this be real or an elicitation? Is this a dream or is he living out a fantasy alone locked up somewhere? Or is it a veneration carried on long after their mortality?”

The acting is nothing short of perfection. The angst, pain, sadness, as well as periods of happiness sprinkled with an underlying deep love washes over you like ocean waves. Sometimes, those waves are gentle while at other times, they knock you over with their prowess. The screenplay is one of the finest because it takes what is happening and makes it felicitous without being sensational. They take the everyday living of humanity and turn it into poetry in motion. It is entrancing.

The symbolism in this short movie is compelling. It is everywhere and you may assign interpretive meaning to fit what you see and feel within this short snippet. Not all of it flows linearly and you will have to mesh things together when you have your own ‘aha’ moment. All I shall tell you, is that my enlightened moment came when the two of them fought and Nghiem became enraged and lost control. For me, so many symbols then jumped out and made sense to me.

However, this is one of those unique and rare films that will be interpreted by where the individual viewer is in his or her stage of their own life in terms of age, orientation, and intensity of connection that one has or had with another person. We will ‘see’ what is going on very differently depending on our point of view within our life’s stage.

While I did not cry, I certainly could understand why for those that did. There are plenty of junctures to do so in this portrayal. However, I became deeply pensive and was profoundly saddened when Nghiem says to Hai Au as to why they broke up: “my pride was louder than your cries.” I could not help but reflect on what happened to one of my previous relationships that hit home directly by this simple saying. Hindsight is astonishingly painful.

Be warned this is not easy to get through. It is solemnly emotive, but so is the love. Yet, life got in the way. Regret did too. Be prepared to board an emotional roller-coaster ride of highs and lows through peaks and valleys and where you end up getting off, will be unique to you. Every one of us must take this ride alone and when you get off, you will be all alone on the platform: Destiny and reflection are yours.

Rating- 5 out of 5

Streaming on- LJ Label YouTube Channel