This short film is about 45 minutes and hence I think it deserves a mini review of its own. A Taiwanese film, it deals with the pitfalls of pathos with backgrounds of abuse and prostitution. The film is dark but a very relevant subject at the same time.
Light is a young boy who works as a prostitute in the streets. He was sexually assaulted by his stepfather and always lacked love in his childhood. After his mother died, he could no longer escape and was forced into prostitution. Shuo is an undercover cop trying to reach the drug cartel’s boss by working at a tailor shop. One day, Light meets a new client who beats him up on the street. Shuo watches that on camera and brings him home to nurse him back to health. During the stay the two men come together but Light has too much baggage with him. His father still demands money while Shuo wants him to stop prostitution immediately. Of course, given the past trauma, it is not easy for Light to trust anyone, much rather feel loved or love someone. Thankfully, with persuasion and love Shuo manages to bring light in his life.
The character of Light is really interesting, we feel a lot of empathy for him. Shuo, the policeman is a little less explored but we manage to know enough about him to understand his actions. We don't really go into much details of his undercover act and why's it necessary to show him that way. To be honest, Shuo could have been anyone at all. But that part aside, the two boys had amazing chemistry and the actors do a great job of playing their parts. There were some abrupt scene changes, probably because of the duration of the film, which makes me feel whether this short film is an edited version of a bigger storyline. A decent story, which feels like its missing something; it is still satisfying thanks to a happy ending and good acting/direction. (6/10)
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