The issue of the difficulty of relationships in the modern, social-media dominated, extremely fast-pace society has been a recurring one in Asian cinema. Amos Why and Nora Lam present the issue in all its “glory” in four segments revolving around the relationships a young woman establishes, or at least tries to.

“Four Times Four ” is screening at Osaka Asian Film Festival

The first one shows how the man she is about to have a date with, uses social media to “con” a number of women, while also focusing on the importance appearance plays for women. The second one focuses on the concept of one-night stands and the connection between sex and relationships. The third one deals with what consists a steady, permanent relationship in contrast to dating, and how HK society perceives the former. The fourth one deals with the difficulty commitment poses.

Through these segments, the directors highlight the issue mentioned in the prologue as thoroughly as possibly, through an approach that focuses on lightness and entertainment, but also succeeds contextually, particularly through the dialogues. The short does not aim to give answers, but to make its audience thing about the various aspects of modern relationships, an approach that works quite well for the narrative.

The cinematography is quite polished, in a tactic that suits the overall aesthetics of the movie though, with the same applying to the editing, which implements a mid-tempo pace that focuses on dialogue rather than events.

Jennifer Yu in the protagonist role is excellent, portraying the victim, the experienced, the decisive, and the disappointed successively, with equal realism and artistry, anchoring the film in the best way.

“Four Times Four” is well-shot, easy to watch, entertaining, and thought-provoking. Not much more one could ask from a 16-minute-short.