The transition from the educational to the professional stage in people's lives is one of the most difficult people have to face, as it essentially involves entering a completely different world, with much more responsibilities this time. At the same time, the part of life that entertainment still played the larger role is to be left behind, frequently along the people who comprised the particular lifestyle. Thunyachanok Aphisumphokul presents the concept in a short filled with nostalgia, with “How We Say Goodbye”.
How We Say Goodbye is screening at Osaka Asian Film Festival
Roommates Ing and Tarn are seniors at university and they are best friends. With the approach of their final semester, changes are afoot, especially for Tarn who is about to embark on a long journey and go to London. Through a series of photographs and other mementos, the two girls start reminiscing about their past and discussing their future, as we follow them to a number of locations.
Through an approach that soars with nostalgia, also dictated by the excessive use of photos interspersed throughout the film and the subtle music, Thunyachanok Aphisumphokul presents the concept mentioned in the prologue by showing how difficult it is to say goodbye to one life and a group of people, as the two girls obviously realize that they will soon stray away from each other. The drama that is emitted from this concept works quite well, with the director keeping it tame, however, definitely without hitting the reef of forced sentimentalism, at least not fully.
At the same time, one could say that there is barely enough story here, even for a 29 minute short, with the dialogue-heavy approach and the somewhat forced inclusion of some episodes (which are also mentioned but not showed) adding even more to this sense.
The acting on the other hand is on a high level, with Chatriya Supakitpatana and Pimsiri Kao-On being quite convincing in their feelings for each other, in two realistic performances that also exhibit an excellent chemistry. The cinematography is functionable, without any particular exaltation, with the combination of long shots and close ups working well. The editing results in a mid tempo that suits the aesthetics of the movie nicely.
There is nothing particularly wrong with “How We Say Goodbye”, maybe with the exception of a somewhat forced effort to evoke nostalgia. At the same time, though, the level of quality short films have reached lately, particularly in terms of narrative and context, is definitely not found here, in, essentially the biggest problem of the short.
