As much as we hate to admit it, we have all given up on something. Sometimes, it’s for the best, and if not, then we usually learn from it. But how do you know when to give up on something, especially when it’s a dream? Jeremy Pion-Berlin’s A Beginner’s Guide to Giving Up raises this question.
A struggling painter (Cara Mitsuko) decides to give up her dreams to pursue a career in therapy. As she awaits an acceptance or rejection letter, she delves into the decision among her peers regarding whether she is making the right decision or not.
“A struggling painter decides to give up her dreams to pursue a career in therapy.”
What A Beginner’s Guide to Giving Up does is look at both sides of the coin and ask which path is really worth the struggle. A path of loving what you do but waiting for your big break? Or is it a path of knowing what you are working towards but struggling to pay the rent anyway? While the film does not quite give an answer to the question, the film ends in a way that leaves it up to the viewer to answer. Personally, the way the film put it, I’d rather do what I love if I see that both paths are a struggle either way.
The film uses some special effects where random inanimate objects begin to move slowly as the painter’s day goes on, almost as in a stop-motion animation sort of way. The special effects used give it some more flare while not overdoing it with the effects. The production of the film is quite impressive.
A Beginner’s Guide to Giving Up is a film that everyone in the creative arts has lived through. The film puts more of a perspective on if school is really the way to go like we have all heard over and over while growing up. From the story to the production, this film is a work of art.
"…this film is a work of art."
