Love is a virus. It incubates silently. It strikes suddenly. Its favorite breeding ground " small, crowded, claustrophobic spaces such as an office.
Pearl, a marketing executive in her twenties, found herself being drawn closer and closer to Tom, her married-with-kids boss. She has been working for him for quite some time and Tom is ever so gentle and kind. Is this love? Pearl ponders. If so, is the feeling mutual? How and when did a normal working relationship gradually evolve into something romantic? What should she do now? The anxiety is becoming unbearable...
award-winning :
The award-winning screenwriter of July Rhapsody and Comrades, Almost a Love Story, Ivy Ho makes her directorial debut with the romantic drama Claustrophobia. Politely restrained, yet emotionally intense, Claustrophobia uses eight scenes and multiple characters to explore the complications and the irony of workplace romance and politics. Popular stars Ekin Cheng (Rule No. 1) and Karena Lam (Kidnap), who received a Hong Kong Film Award Best Actress nomination for her performance, underact to great effect as colleagues caught in a quiet extramarital affair. Also co-starring Andy Hui, Derek Tsang, and Ben Wong, Claustrophobia interestingly tells the story backwards from painful fallout to first encounter. Through carpool conversations and workplace goings, the film weaves an intimate, affecting, and achingly realistic study of how relationships develop and devolve. |