A shy woman meets a chatty fisherman, then feels emotions she's never felt before. | Minnows

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Minnows is used with permission from James Mills. Learn more at https://millsmovies.com.

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Meredith is a painfully shy, reclusive housekeeper, who doesn't have much of a life outside of her job or her home. She finds it hard to speak to others, feeling often self-conscious and awkward.

But one day after her bike is stolen, she meets Angelo, an affable, chatty fisherman who has emigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines. Angelo can talk enough for the both of them and even though they seem to have disparate temperaments, they forge an unlikely bond based on their common loneliness and a shared love of the ocean. He begins to pull Meredith out of her shell, but just as she begins to entertain more hopes and dreams for herself, she finds herself facing a challenge to those newly awakened emotions.

Directed and written by James Mills, this immersive, thoughtful short drama follows the standard pattern of a romantic comedy story, starting with a "meet-cute," progressing to greater levels of familiarity and then hitting a snag. But the film has a very particular take on the genre, going for an unvarnished but no less lovely view of humanity that's expansive, generous-minded and challenges the idea of who deserves to be at the center of love stories and how we should tell them.

The film is on the longer side of a short, using its time to delve deep into its central characters. In a conventional Hollywood rom-com, Meredith would be a character that exists on the margins of a scene, perhaps supporting as the main characters drive the action with quippy dialogue and bold emotion. Here, she is reserved and awkward, clearly not comfortable in the world and in her skin, and just as unseen by others.

Captured in writing that has an ear for how everyday people talk and think and camerawork that emphasizes how the lovely and ordinary can co-exist in everyday life, Meredith meets Angelo, who appreciates Meredith's company. Actor Marc Fajardo plays Angelo with compelling warmth, acceptance and humor, and the character's extraverted nature nudges Meredith out of her shell more.

Watching her slowly emerge with Angelo's attention is a wonderful, rich transformation, played beautifully by actor Artemis Bell with vulnerable tenderness and understatement. The film requires patience and attention as these lives unfold, but we soon begin to feel as if we know them, and when the pair hit an obstacle to a promising relationship, it's devastating to both us and Meredith. But Meredith proves she is more resilient than she thinks, with a deep well of devotion and love that opens up the world to her, even when she seems at her lowest.

In many ways, "Minnows" is a tribute to the ordinary, hard-working everyman and everywoman, of normal people just trying to get through life and find some connection amid a world that can seem indifferent. Its investment in telling Meredith's story with such heart, depth and generosity is a profound statement, affirming that one doesn't have to be perfect, beautiful, witty or otherwise optimized as a human being to feel and be worthy of love, care and attention. As it wends into its final section, we see that it is not finding someone or winning their love that transforms us, but the action of loving itself, in its purest form, that has its magic and alchemy.

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A shy woman meets a chatty fisherman, then feels emotions she's never felt before. | Minnows
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