ROMANTIC SHORT FILMS - 4
Romance short films tend to be either optimistic or realistic. I continue to give you both types as one gives you hope and the other gives you solace.
Mei by Arvin Chen (2006) (USA/Tawain) (11m)
One of those sweet, understated romantic dramas, Mei is the story of a young man who works on a noodles stall run by a father and daughter. He is, of course, in love with the daughter but the eponymous girl in question plans to use her English language skills to leave Taiwan and find a job in New York. Will our reticent hero pluck up the courage to tell her how he feels or will something else come out of his mouth..? It won a Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.
Sign Language by Oscar Sharp (2010) (UK) (5m)
Written by Stephen Fellows, Sign Language won both the reed.co.uk short film competition and the Virgin Media Shorts competition in 2010 and it's easy to see why. It is a subtle and likeable romantic comedy narrated by a 'board guy' - who stand on London's Oxford Street holding up signs - who spends his life making announcements but is too shy to talk to the girl handing out flyers that he fancies.
How To Break Up by Lev Yilmaz (2007) (US) (3m)
How To Break Up With Your Girlfriend is one of the series of animations entitled Tales Of Mere Existance, by comic animator Lev Yilmaz and originally started in 2002. How To Break Up Your Girlfriend is one of my favourites and, like most, the comedy comes from the fact that it cuts excruciatingly close to the bone, saying what many of us are too afraid to admit. This, of course, is the base upon which many great stand-up comics build their routines!
Raw Love by Martin Deus & Juan Chappa (2008) (Argentina) (15m)
Raw Love (Amor Crudo) was co-directed by Martin Deus and Juan Chappa, with writing credits attached to the former. It is a subtle and beautifully acted short about two high school friends spending the last days of term together. There is, of course, an unsaid something simmering beneath the surface but South American society is not condusive to male lovers. Raw Love is a compelling and truthful story of mixed emotions and untold wants.
