Glitches is a dramatic short written and directed by Annie Chen. When a down-on-his-luck lawyer meets a mysterious woman whilst waiting for their delayed flight, he becomes torn on what he should do when she tells him an awful truth.
After spending months in lockdown, it’s fun to go on this films journey at the airport, having the world open to us and the characters. As we haven’t been able to travel, it felt dystopian at times with the crisp white walls and glass partitions, separating the characters from the rest of the world. Yet it was nice to feel a little more normal compared to the current new headlines, even though the headlines in the film weren’t fun either.
Li Cheng-Ta wonderfully plays a lawyer who is struggling personally and professionally. Not sure where he belongs or if he will ever be as good as he wants to be, when he is approached by an odd woman at the airport, we learn about his character and why he might be like he is. The lawyer is unsure and unaware, just like the audience watching the film, trying to figure out what is the right thing to do. Opposite him as the woman, we see Yuan Chun-Yueh play a ghost-like character, someone who is there, but feels like she’s not all at the same time. At first glance, these are two very different people, yet as time passes between them, we begin to learn that we’re all facing problems, and we cannot judge people if we don’t know the reasons behind their actions.
Writer and director Annie Chen has really dived into an interesting topic of life and how we live it with this powerful short. I was struck by the dystopian feeling at the start like I mentioned, but as we sat down with these characters and watched the film play out in front of us, we could see how we can all relate to certain moments that are spoken about. Whether we feel lost, alone, or unsure, sometimes it helps to know that even complete strangers feel the same, and the characters that have been created for this short really are great at putting all of this across.
As short films go, it is on the longer side, but through interesting dialogue, and how we can relate to what’s being said, this film doesn’t feel long or overwhelming. Instead, it keeps us hooked with the thrill of the police possibly appearing, the depth of conversation and our own sympathy towards the situation.
Glitches really is a powerful piece, and one that will leave the audience focusing on their life and the lives of the people they meet.