Synopsis
At a local McDonalds restaurant, where lively disco music is played in the background, a middle-aged man orders a lunch. When he returns to his seat after a short absence, he finds a complete stranger in his seat eating his food. Not wanting to cause a scene, he sits with the intruder and shares the single burger. As the gentle tune of the Aria is being played, the two men finish the meal in tolerated silence. Then the man loses his temper when it appears that the stranger stole more than his lunch. Food for Thought is based on an incident that actually happened to the director, John Paton. He shared the story with Matthew Ross, who strongly recommended he make it into a short film. Together they wrote, produced and directed the film, shooting the whole sequence at the location where the incident actually took place. It is amusing to watch how a little misunderstanding gets blown out of proportion to develop into an extraordinary comedy. Underneath the laughs however, there is the undeniable pathos of living in modern society. The effective choice of music also deserves a mention. (KIM Eui-Chan)