Heartening pandemic love story
The year is 2021. A frightened, angry crowd lines up outside a medical center, desperate for a cure for a terrible virus. “He pushed in front,” someone shouts.
Talk about timing. When he began making “Little Fish,” an intimate and affecting romance in a sci-fi setting, director Chad Hartigan had no idea the world would be coping with a real pandemic in 2021. Watching this fictional society begin to fray in panic feels just a tad too close for comfort. Perhaps it’s for the best, then, that “Little Fish,” starring the very appealing duo of Olivia Cooke and Jack O’Connell, is a sci-fi romance that doesn’t spend too much time on the “sci.”
Yes, this virus — NIA, or Neuroinflammatory Affliction
— terrifyingly causes its victims to lose their memories, sometimes suddenly and sometimes slowly, with no relation to age, gender or anything else. But the focus here is on the role that memory plays in a relationship. Obviously, the memories we create together are crucial building blocks. But if they disappear, does the love remain? And what does that look like? Without a past, can we have a present, not to mention a future?
We begin on a windswept beach in the Seattle area. A young woman Emma sits alone, crying. A friendly dog runs up for a cuddle, soon followed by its owner, Jude. He’s surprised by her charming northern England accent. They smile.
The clever script by Mattson Tomlin flips around in time over the couple’s yearlong relationship, from first cute kiss, to moving in together, to cute proposal in a pet store, to marriage.
Emma, a veterinary technician, aims for a better future as a scientist. Jude is a photographer who’s been chronicling the touring rock band led by his friend Ben. When he texts Emma soon after they meet, she’s at a Halloween party. He invites her to his party instead. She looks like George Washington, but says she’s dressed as 18th-century French veterinarian Claude Bourgelat. By the time she gets upstairs, he knows exactly who that is. “What’s your costume, guy who Googles things and pretends he already knows them?” Emma cracks, sweetly.
Soon they’re a couple, building memories together. But remember — these memories come to us just as they’re getting lost. And so we wonder: Whose memories are we seeing, anyway? His, hers, or no one’s?
The first scary reports seem far away from everyday life. There’s a fisherman who forgot how to operate his boat, so he jumped into the water to swim home. People suddenly forget how to drive cars. Most seriously, pilots lose the ability to fly, midair. Then the virus hits Ben (Raúl Castillo). His girlfriend Sam (the singer-songwriter Soko, performing some of her own work) takes him to a tattoo parlor and has a key piece of music inked onto his arm.
And then, Jude. At first it’s the little details — he shows up hours late to a job taking wedding pictures. He forgets arguments he and Emma just had. One day Emma sees that he’s labeled the back of a photo: “Emma, wife.” It’s a desperate race against time to find a cure. Cooke’s slow-burn panic is heartbreaking to watch.
Aladin Hardy’s Shanghai home has been created with lifestyle-centric rooms that blend comfort with personal touches — and pop in just the right amount of energy.
The 33-year-old Belgian searches for living spaces with a soul, a story.
“Searching for a home has always been a pleasure to me here in Shanghai,” said Hardy, who is a managing director of Publicis Luxe China.
Hardy moved to the city in 2017 and found his first apartment through a great real estate agent.
“I have contact with him ever since then. I usually ask him if there is any good deals on the market,” he said.
Hardy never wanted to live in a high-rise building or a big residential compound. He chose a lane house as his first home in the city and lived there for three years.
“It was the best way to immerse myself in local tradition and a way of living. But after a couple of years, I wanted to upgrade and have more comfort, so I looked at many apartments for months,” Hardy said.
“A friend used to live in this apartment and told me he was letting it go. I saw the light, the location and took it over. I always wanted to live downtown and close to my job and activities. Living in Jing’an District is absolutely wonderful: It has a blend of tradition and represents the beating pulse of Shanghai. This building also houses a historic fire station, dating back to the 1920s, which added to its historic charm.”
The residential building, in which Hardy lives on the fourth floor, has been recognized as a cultural heritage site. Traces from the past — from the carved railings to the wooden doors — have been preserved.
When I go back to my home country there’s always a moment where I feel like I need to go back home — and it’s Shanghai now.
“But I’m not going to lie, this flat does not have my ideal aesthetics. It features dark wooden doors and old-fashioned ceiling lamps,” he said.
But Hardy saw the potential of his 135-square-meter space and transformed the home to match his personal tastes.
“I did a light renovation, including painting the walls white, replacing the plugs and changing the internal doors. I wanted to make sure it feels like home.”
The interior has been rearranged to accommodate a comfortable living room filled with sunlight, a chic dining space and a cozy bedroom, while Hardy’s eclectic style is manifested in the arrangement of the furniture.
“I brought all my furniture from Europe when I moved here. This is the best way to feel like home and the real luxury for me is to be able to sleep in
my very own bed,” he said.
“My interior style has evolved over the years. I have been collecting furniture and objects from different places. I don’t really think ahead if they will match or not and somehow it works for me.”
Hardy brought part of the collection to his Shanghai apartment while leaving some objects in Europe.
“I enjoy the idea of having a ‘stock’ at home where I can pick and choose from to change the mood from time to time. Every so often I open the storage space and switch an old vase from my grandmother to a contemporary candleholder from my father. It depends on the mood and the season. I also love to turn the whole living room upside down to get a new energy and new feng shui.”
Different rooms have been designed to give off different vibes according to their usage. The dining area is clean and pure with a white table contrasting the bolder-style tableware.
The living room is created to be calming and bright during the day and cozy at night. The bedroom has a mixed feeling but is still bright enough to ensure you wake up in a happy mood.
Balance is so important for any stylish, relaxing interior. Hardy knows how to balance different elements to make a rather elegant style. The home reflects a mix of styles composed of furniture and artworks.
“The bookshelves in the living room is one of my favorites and it has a very Nordic 1960s vibe, which I love. It’s filled with books, objects and a painting hung in the middle done by my great grandmother. It resembles a ‘cabinet de curiosities,’” he said.
Another piece dear to his heart is the USM cabinet in the bedroom which he wanted since he was a kid.
“There is sic yet play
Despite th there’s a p and spacio to the calm the living r throughout
White for colors from objects. Th rule for yea green-hued
“It brings I’m conside walls,” he s tures, flow are all key love spaces trolled’ me used. A cozy a comfortab watch telev
s a ‘lego’ feeling of it — clasyful,” Hardy said. the eclectic use of furniture, pervading sense of calm ousness in the flat thanks ming green-colored walls in room and the rest in white ut the space. r the walls are offset by the m the furniture, rugs and his has been Hardy’s go-to ars and he ended up with a d living room. s the space to life and now ering repainting all the other said. “Personal touches, picwers and a burning candle
elements of a cozy home. I s that are lived-in with a ‘coness showing that the space is zy, warm environment means ble couch where you want to vision all afternoon, a dining 1. The living room is created to be calming and bright, reflecting a mix of styles composed of furniture and personal objects.
2. The yellow-colored USM cabinet is one of Hardy’s favorite pieces now displayed in the bedroom. table where you spend the whole night laughing and drinking with friends, a nice balcony full of lush plants.
“On top of all that, the host is also the one bringing a welcoming feel to it. Your living space represents you and is the extension of you.
“Home is where my heart is. I’ve felt at home everywhere I lived and it’s because once I moved to a new place or country I feel fully settled. I miss the people I love but not as much as I love traveling. When I go back to my home country there’s always a moment where I feel like I need to go back home — and it’s Shanghai now.”