Interpretation

A young couple are walking through the night streets having a playful argument about the realism of the movie they just watched. A trio of street thugs are also walking the same streets, one of them quoting from Szu Tzu's Art of War as he goes, excited about the meaning of the passages in relation to their low level criminal activities. The two groups will meet.

This is a simple little film which does a good job of setting up a dramatic and tense situation and then paying it off really well. The couple are pretty nice and you will like them while at the same time the criminal group do well to have banter between them but also have a lot of menace so we are pretty sure what is going to happen. When the two groups do meet it is suitably tense with a steady build and threat; Oeding (a stuntman by trade) gets the lighting just right in the street so it is well lit but still grays and steely blues so that it sets the mood.

The payoff comes off the tension well and makes for a satisfyingly brutal and well choreographed sequence which you will be invested in because of the time spent with either group at the top of the film. It is a basic film in regards what it does, but it does do it well. Bohen leads the short well, playing nerdy well at the start (but not over doing it) while he and Chiu have a nice chemistry which is important early on. Giannone, Luke and Ward also have a chemistry that made me feel like they were a real group and they do give out menace with their body and words. A nice short film from Oeding, not an amazing story but a nice setup and an even nicer delivery.

Not what I expected. A great use of all the talent involved. Smart, witty, funny w/ an awesome ending I didn't expect. Not your typical short that you see at every film festival. Every level is top notch in this short. While everyone is shooting digital, this director took a chance on super 35 film, something you don't see everyday, especially on short films. Everything looks crisp and clean, and very sharp, while the story, short of course, gets to the point right away. Nothing lost here, time is not wasted, that's the thing about short films, some are boring, even in a short time span. This one, keeps you interested on different layers, for the time allotted it delivers. Look forward to seeing more from this director!

This was a really great short film, saw it at a local film fest. I really liked the setup of the characters. Really got you to care about them in a short amount of time...and that is not easy to do. You see these kinds of films a lot, and most are handled very poorly. This felt like a scene out of a big budget Hollywood film. I hope these guys continue to do what they do. As someone who sees a lot of bad indie films, this was a real pleasure to watch. I'd love to see what they can do with a bigger story.

The choreography is great, as well as the cinematography.

Nice work everyone!