rosavalentineroseland Review of The Story of 90 Coins

The Story of 90 Coins (2015)

Beautiful story, brilliant music, and a topic that does matter nowadays

[7/10 · 26 August 2017]

First of all, my thanks to the director Michael Wong for sharing this short film. I wouldn't call it a love story; it's more than that. Judging from the ending, Chen had never opened the envelops when they were first handed to her; she knew that Wang was fulfilling his promise, and she kind of took it for granted. It's just like what could happen in everyone's life: Things that we think naturally happened are often those that we fail to pay enough attention to. It can be about love between lovers, or, certainly, love in a family, between friends, even between strangers. Of course, it doesn't have to involve love; for different people, the topic could be anything they relate to. The music has done a lot to the atmosphere. It gets in when necessary, and the tunes as well as the tempo and the choices of instruments change with the development of plot and emotions. I have to say, though, that there are a few parts that could have been better. The first one is, Chen was going to Paris, she has a French friend, and she even got the visa to study design there (so it's a student's visa I suppose), which means they certainly could have just spoken French. (I currently study graphic design in Paris, and as much as I know, a French would often prefer speaking their native language when they know you can understand.) Another things is, no offense but, most people would usually choose a pair of comfortable shoes when travelling, especially if they have heavy luggage and are taking an long flight (9 to 10 hours between Beijing and Paris), so personally I think it's inappropriate to portrait Chen wearing those heels when she arrived in her apartment. In general, it's indeed a beautiful work which goes deep with a small story. These are only my personal opinions, and if I get anything wrong, apologies in advance.