Where do you stand on life and fate? Vinith Bejugam’s short film, Addiction, wonders whether we have absolute free will, whether life’s path is guided by the choices we make, or whether choice is a figment of our imagination and we’re predestined to walk down the path we’re currently on by some higher power. Or is it a cup of coffee?
Aleksandar (David Gleason) is an astrophysicist who’s had a long, miserable run of bad luck. He knows exactly who to blame: coffee. Yes, even he’ll admit it’s a weird belief for someone as intelligent as he is. He decides to record a video blog laying out his theory of bad luck, with a morning cup of joe in hand. Before he can get into the meat of his blog, his neighbor, Mario (Jesse Murphy), interrupts him by running his leaf blower at full blast. When Aleksandar confronts him, the two quickly become friends.
Aleksandar then goes into detail about how coffee has ruined his life, including how he bought his friend a lottery ticket that won. Aleksandar never saw this friend again. Back when he was a boy, he made friends with a girl who shared his passion for the stars. Then, the pièce de résistance: his girlfriend recently dumped him so she could marry his boss.
It becomes clear that Mario isn’t trained to deal with Aleksandar’s problems, so he refers him to a real therapist, Marija (Danuta Sastre). Even then, Aleksandar can feel his bad luck returning.
A shirtless man with a bright red nosebleed slumps in a leather chair in a black-and-white flashback from Addiction.
“Aleksandar is an astrophysicist who’s had a long, miserable run of bad luck.”
Vinith Bejugam’s Addiction is a tale that is part love story and part treatise on free will. The filmmaker wonders whether we can truly make our own choices in life or whether we’re simply living by the rules of fate. How exactly does the universe operate for us insignificant souls?
What I like about the short is that Bejugam ponders these ideas with a light, humorous tone. Is coffee truly running Aleksandar’s life, or is he making decisions because he believes he’s cursed? Has his belief in coffee kept him from finding true love?
I often prefer my tales on the darker side, but Vinith Bejugam taps into my fondness for the sweeter things in life. Addiction is a fun romp into the mind-blowing subject of free will and predestination, and that’s exactly how it should be.
For more information, visit the Addiction official Instagram page.
"…He knows exactly who to blame: coffee."
