Sugarland
Sam Liu is a piano prodigy spurred on by the relentless expectations of his demanding mother to achieve greater success as a concert pianist than she did. For her, his success begins on admittance to Julliard. But for Sam, his love of music has a different path. Jazz is his passion. Julliard is hers.
When those two goals clash, it threatens to tear apart their family. Sam secretly escapes his domineering mother by seeking the sultry sounds of the jazz club. When Sam’s stepfather sees the tension that the long hours of practice causes both his wife and stepson, he steps in with a sympathetic ear and listens to the story behind his wife’s neurotic pursuit of perfection.
We never stop trying to please our families, and this short film is a sensitive examination of the love shared between mother and son in a broken home. When the mother and step father attend a show, she is overcome with pride as she witnesses the true joy that music gives her son as he performs a unique blend of classical and jazz . He makes the music his own, and the title song SUGARLAND comes to life. In that moment, she is filled with love and pride for her son, and is able to let go of her own childhood demons. Sugarland is a song of redemption and healing for them both.
Something that was interesting and wonderful about this film was the diversity in the casting, and the relationships within. The interracial couple was a fine example of today’s progressive, and most welcome, casting trends. It helped define the family structure within this short film, and the complex relationships that accompany the family dynamics.
The performances were strong throughout this short film, and the exceptional character development for Sam, his mother, and the step father gave a genuine depth to the story and characters. Musical performances were technically skilled and will be appreciated by viewers with a background in music. The sound design, music selections, and exceptional editing choices elevated this short film to be a real contender for awards, and a ‘must see’ selection for film festival attendees. I especially appreciated the editing of the montage scene that portrayed a gruelling seven hour practice session, resulting in bleeding fingers and bandaged hands.
This film must have had a reasonable budget to achieve the level of cinematography qualities, and number of camera setups that enhanced each scene. Beautifully lit and filmed, this is a film that showcases the talents of the director and his very capable camera crew. Costumes were simple, but effective with plenty of attention to detail. Set Design was also effective with good use of props, locations, and setting which allowed the viewer the feeling of experiencing the performance live. Congratulations to everyone involved with this wonderfully produced short film.
