From the director’s statement: This film describes a part of college students’ living conditions, about their confusion, desire, excitement, anxiety and fear in the face of the unknown. I think many of my classmates need to see this kind of film and resonate with it. This is a film that asks questions, it aims to ask the right questions, not pretend the answers are already here.
Directed by Tian Ye, “That Person That Day” is a 24-minute short that attempts to explore existential questions through a minimalist sci-fi setup. Presented in black and white and spoken in the Chongqing dialect, the short debuted at HiShorts! Xiamen Short Film Week in 2021, offering a distinctly local yet experimental voice in China’s new wave of youth cinema.
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The story begins with the sun setting over a building, while a man, student Wang Yuzhe, narrates something abstract, before the setting changes to a campus, this time in black and white. A tracking and POV shot moves through the stairs of one of the buildings, eventually reaching the roof, with umbrellas spread out in various areas along the path. The focus then shifts to a young man walking into the decrepit rooftop until a schoolmate asks him about his actions there. The interaction seems quite abnormal, and the young man’s admittance of being there to watch a girl in the building across does not make it any less strange. Meanwhile, a third student appears to be sitting in a meditative position.
The next sequence focuses once again on the first man, now walking in the yard, while his narration describes his desire to talk to a girl he likes, an endeavor that ends in failure due to his reluctance. It turns out this part took place before he arrived at the terrace, with the discussion continuing afterward on the roof. The short continues in the same fashion, with a “tour guide” through the campus and surrounding areas, narration, and eventually the protagonist meeting a man who claims to be an alien.
Tian Ye’s ambition is evident, particularly through his effort to include as many cinematic elements as possible. Tracking shots, POV, black-and-white photography that eventually transitions into color, abstract cuts, extended narration, and film speed manipulation are all present, contributing to a story that feels philosophical and dystopian at the same time. His comments about ultimate truths being possibly unattainable, suggesting that despite our questions and longings we are left simply waiting for the sun to rise or seeking fleeting comfort from others, are definitely intriguing. Overall, one could say the narrative leans more toward poetic abstraction than traditional genre conventions. Rather than using action or dialogue to drive the story, Tian relies heavily on voiceover and imagery, encouraging viewers to fill in the emotional gaps themselves.
However, the execution is uneven. While the use of black-and-white cinematography and regional dialect gives the short a unique texture, the heavy reliance on narration rather than visual storytelling undermines the cinematic experience. The performances, technical aspects such as sound design, and even the narrative structure often feel amateurish, bordering on the awkward, with the overabundance of cinematic techniques resulting in a short whose director does not seem entirely sure where he wants to lead it.
There is an undeniable cleverness to the concept, and the rawness of the production occasionally lends a rough charm. Yet “That Person That Day” ultimately feels like a story caught between ambition and ability, in a style that would be very difficult to see in a cinema, a festival, or even a streaming service. There is something here, though, perhaps an energy and a will that was simply not mature enough to be fully realized, making the 24-minute short an intriguing viewing experience, even if primarily for ‘hate-watching’.
