Po Ching is a hikikomori suffering from a compulsive disorder, which ranges from cover-folding, the angle at which furniture is placed, obsessive cleaning, to only shopping on a set date. One day, he becomes soulmates with Ching also suffers from a fear of germs and being touched. Suddenly, Po Ching loses his phobias and starts a new job and a normal life.
This first-time director’s ambitious iPhone XS film brings a young touch through its Instagram-like square screen ratio, in-your-face colors and fairytale-style imagery. The screen ration is changed when one of the compulsive disorder soulmates steps into the normal world and the story becomes predictable. If the technical experiment was intended to affect the narrative, it would have benefited the film to take this approach to greater extremes. Meanwhile, the eccentric character’s outdoor attire consisting of a raincoat, mask and latex gloves ironically appeals for its normality, especially at this time of the spreading pandemic. (Ellen Y. D. KIM)