Welcome back for another Mubi Monday review! This week we’re venturing back into short films and focusing ot one that was released back in March of this year. That short film is…I Am the Beauty of Your Beauty, I Am the Fear of Your Fear (2024).
Title: I Am the Beauty of Your Beauty, I Am the Fear of Your Fear
Director: Tan Chui Mui
Released: March 12, 2024 (China)
Runtime: 22 minutes
Available to stream: Exclusively on Mubi
When we first meet Gita (Dany Lee), she’s being held at knifepoint and is forced to surrender her phone. Not even a minute later a new attacker emerges, it’s here that we learn Gita isn’t walking down the worst street known to man. No, Gita is at a school for martial arts.
Gita has come to this school in Malaysia for reasons we aren’t quite sure of yet. While training, the other women tell Gita about Fight Night. Basically, it’s an open mat tournament and win or lose, you’re going to walk away with some money in your pocket.
We see Gita go through various forms of training from disarming an attacker to rolling on the mats. Though she isn’t awful, there’s definitely room for improvement. If Gita is going to compete at Fight Night, she’s going to have to dig deep.
Will she find that she has what it takes?
Despite the title being a mouthful, I quite enjoyed I Am the Beauty of Your Beauty, I Am the Fear of Your Fear (2024). In fact, I’d go so far as to say this is a short film I’d like to see more of. There is still a lot to learn about the character of Gita.
Yes, we’ve seen the “someone goes outside their comfort zone and has to dig deep to find themselves” trope play out a million times before, but it works here. I’m able to invest in Gita and want to see her succeed. This despite not really knowing too much of anything about her other than the death of her colleague had a significant impact on her.
A big reason this worked for me was the fight choreography. Each fight scene looks clean and realistic, allowing you to lose yourself in each matchup.
Asking you to carve out 22 minutes of your day isn’t a big ask. You should use those 22 minutes to give I Am the Beauty of Your Beauty, I Am the Fear of Your Fear (2024) at least one viewing.
If you have seen it, tell me what you thought in the comments below or by reaching out on social media!
As always, you can follow me over on Letterboxd to see what else I’ve been watching.