The “Do you love me?”-question is a very complicated one, since it also includes a number of other statements and questions, as “I love you”, “why don't you say you love me?, “Why don't you show me that you love me?”, etc and is also an expression of a need that is natural, but can also become suffocating for both parties. Nelicia Low deals with the dark aspects of this question, through a rather intense story.
“Freeze” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
Hui is in need of love and companionship from her husband, who, however, is always too busy, and even spends a number of days away from home on business or drinking all night with customers. Hui is frustrated by his attitude, while the fact that she also has to take care of her autistic brother, both in the house and in the supermarket they both work, makes her situation even worse. As her husband continues not to give her love in the way she needs it, she turns to the most obvious choice for comfort…
Nelicia Low makes a comment about the hardships of relationships in the modern society, where work and subsequently providing money, has become a priority as much as a necessity, particularly in societies as the Singaporean, where even the basic living costs are extravagant. The fact takes a toll particularly on women, who are usually the ones “left behind”, in desperate need for comfort from men who seem to have no time and have actually justified the fact in their mind due to being the “providers”.
The way Low presents the consequences of the concept, however, are where the short truly thrives, with the shock factor working exceptionally well in communicating the aforementioned comment through extremity. On a secondary level, one can also interpret the concept as meaning that immediate family members are the only ones people can always count on, while the whole situation with the brother seems to criticize how unprepared both society and the State are to deal with people in the Spectrum.
Emma Hung as Hui gives a great performance as Hui, communicating her feelings both through her words and through her eyes and body stance with the same eloquence. Particularly the way she allows her husband to change her bad mood in a scene is impressive to watch, due to the realism of her acting.
Tzu-hao Kao's cinematography is quite good, with the way his camera implies before it reveals being particularly artful, while his framing highlights meaningfully the claustrophobic setting Hui in particular inhabits.
Making your comments through extremity is an excellent way to communicate them, and Nelicia Low does just that with “Freeze”, in a short that is also quite well-shot.
