You Used To Smile That Way (2009)

Not my cup of tea : it went above my head

The story is very simple but I think the title of the YouTube English subtitled video for this short movie spoils a bit what might have been left as an interrogation point for the viewer. Not sure what were the intention of the writer regarding that aspect of the story. Overall, it is a gloomy and dramatic story which did not really interested me.

The internal voice of the main character was I think supposed to be poetic with a juxtaposition of saxophone and piano music. But it absolutely did not work for me. I felt totally detached of what was happening on screen and what the character was saying.

I would not recommend this to people. I found the story pretty bleak. It is a very short movie of 13 minutes, so you might want to give it a shot and make your own opinion on it.

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Move on and smile!

No matter how difficult the relationship turns out to be, you should not lose hope. There is always light at the end of the tunnel, and a random act of kindness from a stranger is the proof of it.

It's Christmas. Late for a date, a man remembers another Christmas, a year earlier, when he was happily in love. But that happiness did not last and his boyfriend cheated on him both with men and with women. When he eventually caught him, he punched him and then dove into sadness and depression.

This is ultimately a very uplifting short film. It is nicely filmed and acted. The cinematography with its shots of busy and overcrowded streets conveyed the feelings of being alive, rushed and happy. The actor is excellent: sad, desperate and crying, trying to come to terms with a betrayal. Still, through all the tears he manages to crack a smile: life is far from over and he will recover! Only one thing: I would like to shave off his stubble... The story is told in a monotone voiceover: the actor just read out the text. Cold and emotionless in spite of a rather poetic text.

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