Oscar nominated, this short film is a simple story of two people who have a chance meeting only for fate to intervene to ensure it is more than just that. As such it has the potential to be corny and therefore hard to care about, but it manages to be quite touching. The plot stretches a bit with the paper planes essentially coming to life rather than just being a device but this was the only place where it pushed me. The sight of the main guy being held in his seat by the planes didn't really work for me and I would have preferred a bit more of a "passive" device (eg I preferred the woman's interaction with her plane) but mostly I went with it because I was into the short film.
This engagement was achieved by the delicate touches provided in the music and the animation, both of which are excellent. Without so much as a word the film unfolds in mostly black and white and it has a great look to it – I have seen people posting screenshots from this film and some of them are beautiful enough to hang. The music plays in the background and resists the urge to overegg the material so it never feels like it is being used to guide your emotions in a cynical or undeserving manner. It takes you where you know it will go but the manner in which it does it is charming and pleasing; it will not have you in tears but it is delicate, charming and ultimately sweet and that is quite the achievement in a wordless 7 minute animation.
