The Story of 90 Coins

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

This was a great love story which ended up being a lesson for us all. Even thought I had to read it because of the language, I could still feel the feelings they were feeling. The actors were very convincing. It was very well set up and performed. Would love to see any sequels to it.

Despite running a mere 9 minutes, Beijing based filmmaker Michael Wong jams packs a lot into his award winning short film The Story of 90 Coins.

Filmed in China, 90 Coins is a visually striking story of young lovers Wang Yuyang and Chen Wen as the two make a promise to over 90 days share 90 coins that symbolise their love together with attached stories, only for the two to realise that sometimes to reach your dreams, you must break your promises.

Wong's beautifully shot film quickly captures the essence of what it means to be blindly in love and then have the world all of sudden makes itself apparent to you again and with a touching score by An Wei and impressive lead turns from Dongjun Han and Zhuang Zhiqi, 90 Coins is far more accomplished than many of its other higher profile feature length films that try hard and often fail to engage on an emotionally resonate level.

With technology ever improving from cameras through to editing programs, 90 Coins is but further proof that budding filmmakers now have more tools at their disposal than ever before to create and bring to life their artistic visions and based on this effort that bagged the Best Foreign Short & Best Actress at Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards and also the Rising Star Awards at Canada International Film Festival, it's likely that we haven't seen the last of Wong as his career grows and develops into the future.

Final Say –

While slight, short and sharp, The Story of 90 Coins is a likable and neatly constructed romance with a difference and a visually striking calling card for director Michael Wong.

3 ½ coins out of 5

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.