The Story of 90 Coins

The Story of 90 Coins (2015) provides an in-depth view into a relationship of a young couple over the course 90 days and beyond. I am not a huge fan of standard romances, but I found the story to be extremely gripping. In addition, it is amazing how much of the storyline was conveyed in just 10 minutes. In addition, performances of the lead actors (Dongjun Han and Zhuang Zhiqi) as well as cinematography were simply spot on. We definitely need more dramas like this one!

This film may be short but it is nonetheless an engaging production created by an art-director-turned-filmmaker Michael Wong. In a lot of ways, it reminded me about Shunji Iwai's Love Letter from 1995.

Remember those stories that your elders used to read for you when you were a kid, which always ended with a message that you were not supposed to forget? The Story Of 90 Coins has the same feel. It looks like a story book with characters that move. It has a dreamy feel to it. Since the story is short, I will not get into the details.

If you are or ever have been in a relationship, watch this short film so that you know what mistakes not to make and why it is necessary to keep putting in the efforts for a relationship to last forever; not just for a relationship to last but for it to stay healthy - forever.

I discovered this film via Messenger and was contacted by the director of the film Michael Wong. So he asked me to watch and review his short film, and as always I'm a man of my word. This is a foreign film and a tragic love story. I won't spoil anything in case you're curious enough to watch it. Firstly, the acting is very well done, I can feel the genuine love the characters have for each other. The direction is good, sometimes the film felt unbalanced however, but I like the story Mr. Wong wants to tell. The conflict between the characters due to a misunderstanding make this very relatable especially to any former or current couples. If you like a solid romantic film, this one is worth checking out. 7/10

The Story of 90 Coins is made for those who have loved and lost. The story is simple but what elevates this short film is the aesthetic quality of its cinematography. Colour grading is crisp and beautifully balanced. The liberal use of shallow depth of field creating bokeh effects greatly enhances the romantic mood to showcase the pair of attractive lead actors. Who knew heartbreak could look this beautiful?

The gorgeous visuals also add an element of wishfulness to the narrative. Much of what we see comprises of flashbacks. Memories of a lost love and missed opportunities are invariably tinged with melancholy and sentimentality, which is why I think this style of filming works best in this instance. Kudos to the director, DoP and team.

Young love is beautiful, but it can also be unstable.

The Story of 90 Coins explored the lives of Chen Wen and Wang Yu Yang, the man who wanted to marry her. At the beginning of this short film, Wang convinced Chen to continue dating him for ninety more days after hearing how hesitant she was to get engaged to him. He agreed to give her one coin every day. At the end of the trial period, they'd either use those coins to pay for a marriage license or buy drinks together and then part ways forever.

Their relationship was trimmed down to the bare essentials of what we needed to know which was a great choice for this film. It was interesting to see these highlights and fill in the gaps with my own theories about what might have happened between scenes.

The audience did see these characters going on creative dates, cuddling, and doing other ordinary but quite sweet things together. I loved seeing them interact. Even though we knew almost nothing about their backstories, they both seemed to be gentle, wholesome people who were well-suited for each other.

There wasn't a lot of time to go into why Chen was unsure about his proposal because the run time for everything was less than ten minutes. This was one of the few things I would have changed about it. Wang was handsome, kind, and empathetic. Honestly, he seemed like the perfect boyfriend to me, so I struggled to come up with any rational reasons why she'd turn him down other than the fact that they both seemed to be pretty young.

With that being said, I loved the romance. These characters really sold me on the idea that they were a good match for each other, and I couldn't help but to root for them even when life circumstances seemed to be tearing them apart.

Do be sure to pay close attention to the English subtitles for this film if you don't speak Chinese. There were a couple of important plot points that happened so quickly I would have missed them if I'd glanced away from the screen.

I'm glad I watched The Story of 90 Coins, and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys the romance genre.