No Regrets: A Silent-Era, Black-&-White Comedy Of Sweet Errors

A simple task of baking an apple tart turns into a tutorial for life and near-death in this 05:30-minute long film written and directed by Angie Lin. A perfect ode to the silent-era films, No Regrets is a black-&-white short that is Chaplinesque in its style and philosophical in its approach.

Angie Lin, who also stars as the lead, plays “Destination”; eponymous to the character’s arc, while Tariq Yun who plays “Journey” is her nemesis. The two are not only polar opposites in their characters, but also hilariously counterbalancing each other’s actions. While Destination is more keen on sticking to the rules, ensuring that everything is in order and shipshape, Journey is more adamant about expressing his uniquely creative genius, often bordering on absurdity. What makes it work, you might think–their drive to stick to their own rules! But, when a catastrophic incident puts the entire culinary expedition at risk, the tables turn.

What makes No Regrets entirely pleasurable to watch is the subtlety, amidst the in-your-face humour that is very reminiscent of the silent era. The slapstick is neatly pulled off with Htet Waiyan’s expert cinematography and Lin’s editing. It’s crisp, neat to a fold and altogether a cinematic indulgence for the genre’s aficionados. Saahil Haider’s special effects add that layer to the already existing quirkiness of the tale while music supervisor Craig Pilo ensures that there’s not a single beat where this flicker loses its pulse.

Angie Lin dons several hats in this film–writer, director, actor, editor, producer. While it’s hard to single out each professional contribution, the director in her has certainly helped the actor steam out the performance. There’s an easy chemistry between the duo that translates into fun, borderline frustration and eventual banter that is really easy on the viewer.

No Regrets is warm and wholesome, but don’t be fooled by its masked simplicity. It’s rich with philosophy and tangible life lessons–one that may be lost in idle viewing. Lin, a master storyteller here, has managed to pull off several themes in one go and it’s entirely to her credit that a film such as this not only manages to pay a homage to the silent era cinema but also contemporary style of filmmaking.

Highly recommended!