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Critic:
Jason Knight
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Posted on:
Oct 10, 2021
Directed by:
Triden V Balasingam
Written by:
John Mahendran
Starring:
Evalynn Li, Li Jian Feng, Ziyan Li
During COVID-19 lockdown, a child and her grandfather are forced to stay at home, where they spend quality time together.
An elderly Chinese man (Feng) is visiting his granddaughter Sera (Li) in Toronto. Sera's mother is due to return soon after spending time abroad, shortly after which her grandfather will go back to China. Then the coronavirus pandemic takes place and the two of them end up spending a great deal of time inside the house, where they cook together, engage in entertaining activities and talk about the values of life.
This short is a heartwarming drama that explores the things that matter the most in life and that happiness can be found in the most simple things. It also points out that even terrible events such as pandemics must not prevent people from being positive. The film also spreads the message that technology influences individuals heavily these days, however it cannot replace the significance of memories, which are unique in ways no technological products are.
The main focus is the relationship between Sera and her grandfather, which is a very strong one. The two of them care deeply for each other and the grandad is keen to teach his granddaughter how to live a happy life and that creating wonderful memories will play a key part in that. He refuses to let the virus outbreak bring him or Sera down.
The acting is rather good, with Feng convincing as an optimistic person, who treasures the most valuable things that life has to offer. Li is the well-behaved child who listens to her grandfather. Her character is growing up in a world that relies on technology for many things, while Feng's character believes that memories can only be created by people.
The score is one of the strongest aspects here. Composer Nathaniel Wolkstein creates music that develops an emotional atmosphere, with effective sounds of violin and piano. The score also becomes sinister when the protagonists find out from the news that COVID-19 is occurring.
Balasingam does an amazing job as director and creates wonderful establishing shots of nature.
This is a moving story about an individual teaching someone else important life lessons, that one must always try to see the good things and that technology is not everything, especially when it comes to memories.