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Short Film Review: Vania on Lima Street (2022) by Bayu Prihantoro Filemon

Vania on Lima Street (2022) by Bayu Prihantoro Filemon
"You are too young to have a scar like that"

The success of “Stranger Things” has sent ripples around the world, with a number of artists trying to recreate the combination of horror and children/teenage aesthetic that made the series so appealing. also tries the same with ““, in a short though, that moves into a completely different path.

Vania on Lima Street is screening at Busan International Film Festival

Vania is a young girl who lives in her family’s Chinese medicine store. She wants to be helpful to adults, but she is too young to have an impact. That is until one night, she is left alone to tend the store, and finds herself treating an injured thief, who is on the run from mobsters. Secretly, she continues to take care of the woman, even going as far as injuring herself to do so.

Filemon directs a very smart short, which essentially plays with the genre of horror, mostly through the audiovisual aspect of the film, but in the end, moves more towards social/family drama territory, in a combination that works quite well actually. As such, and although he initially builds tension about what is going to happen, essentially implying violence, the movie eventually becomes one about helping others, even in extreme situations, while also sending a message about the duty of health workers, through Vania, who has absolutely no second thoughts in helping the woman in need.

Check also this interview

Furthermore, and as the movie closes in on its finale, the impact of Vania’s actions seem to extend beyond her interactions with the injured, in a comment, though, that could have been handled a bit better.

Where the short truly thrives is in its visuals. DP Mandela Majid Pracihara creates a truly imposing atmosphere through his framing and coloring, with his intense reds bathing the images presented here in the most impressive fashion. Along with Sigit D. Pratama’s production design, they are the main sources of the horrific sense the movie emits in the beginning, in definitely the most memorable aspect here. Helmi Nur Rasyid’s editing results in a relatively fast pace, that adds to the entertainment the movie offers.

Young Alexa Jesly Hendrawan is excellent in the protagonist role, being quite convincing in all the different nuances of her character, and in general, one of the attractions of the movie.

“Vania on Lima Street” is smart, well-shot, and in general, a very entertaining short that definitely deserves a watch.

About the author

Panos Kotzathanasis

Panagiotis (Panos) Kotzathanasis is a film critic and reviewer, specialized in Asian Cinema. He is the owner and administrator of Asian Movie Pulse, one of the biggest portals dealing with Asian cinema. He is a frequent writer in Hancinema, Taste of Cinema, and his texts can be found in a number of other publications including SIRP in Estonia, Film.sk in Slovakia, Asian Dialogue in the UK, Cinefil in Japan and Filmbuff in India.

Since 2019, he cooperates with Thessaloniki Cinematheque in Greece, curating various tributes to Asian cinema. He has participated, with video recordings and text, on a number of Asian movie releases, for Spectrum, Dekanalog and Error 4444. He has taken part as an expert on the Erasmus+ program, “Asian Cinema Education”, on the Asian Cinema Education International Journalism and Film Criticism Course.

Apart from a member of FIPRESCI and the Greek Cinema Critics Association, he is also a member of NETPAC, the Hellenic Film Academy and the Online Film Critics Association.

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