Snapshot (2018)

Low budget trip to Thailand

Snapshot was another short film by director Kim Chang Gyun. Shot on a shoestring budget, Kim took his small crew to Thailand to film a trio of people on vacation. Given that Kim was the producer, director, writer, director of photography, actor, and editor, it’s best to go into this short with low expectations and enjoy the stunning scenery.

Hyeong Wu and his girlfriend, Da Eun, are in Thailand for a working vacation. Hyeong is planning on opening a Thai restaurant so that he can stop working late nights at his bar. They visit Ayutthaya and see the remarkable ruins before traveling to Chiang Mai for the Sunday Market. They chat about life and children in a stilted and awkward conversation as Da Eun tries not to get in an argument. The next day he doesn’t feel well and Da Eun goes to ride and feed the elephants. She meets fellow Korean Se Jin there. They sightsee and talk hitting it off well. Da Eun is concerned about the age gap between her and her boyfriend and that he may have grown older but didn’t mature. When Hyeong and Da Eun travel to Pattaya it’s her turn to fall ill and he goes out by himself. He also meets Se Jin and strikes up a conversation conveniently forgetting he has a girlfriend.

Kim Chang Gyun enjoys having his characters sit and chat for long minutes. As in life, the conversations were often mundane and revealing. The couple came to understand that they wanted different things while attempting to sweep the differences under the rug. Se Jin and Hyeong had even more awkward conversations as he seemed to be intimating that he was interested in her while she treated him more as an older acquaintance. Of course, everyone will be waiting for Hyeong’s two worlds to collide and for him to get his comeuppance. Truthfully, I was far more invested in the women's new friendship then the romantic relationship.

As in Cine Café in Paris, one of the women was a photographer and the other was an out of work actress. This time Kim Chang Gyun played a cad who excused his behavior because a woman was beautiful. Also, as he did as a director in Paris, he showed numerous highlights of the foreign place he was filming in. The couples took us along for their sightseeing tours which I quite enjoyed.

Snapshot was a snapshot of three people’s lives as they became entangled on vacation in scenic Thailand. For a very low budget, short film, it was entertaining. I’m more lenient with these cheap, niche films. The only thing that prevented this from being a 7 for me was the omission of the women comparing notes, which after viewing these characters would have been the most fun scene of all.

29 May 2024

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I saw the cover and got intrigued so I just decided to watch it. Honestly it's not worth the short hour of watch time. Snapshot feels like a fitting title, it's like the boring snapshot of a couples life and the whole film is produced like a cheap snapshot. After a short google search it seems like the director filmed another movie in Thailand called "A trip with friend" with the same actors. I expect them to be rather similar and filmed over the course of a few days. His other film Cine Cafe in Paris also sounds really similar when reading the only review and description online.

The movie mostly revolves around maybe 7 longer scenes of 2 people sitting and talking with the occasional multicam cut to another angle. This wouldn't be that bad if the acting wasn't this hard to watch at times. Plus the dialogue is really awkward and flat. Maybe some great actors could've made this into a decent movie, but like it is, it just feels like the stuff you produce during film school. The occasional shots of Thailand are the only refreshing part and show that the team had the potential for decent cinematography, but the way everything is setup makes the movie fully depend on the acting and writing, which just isn't very good.

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