Did you know that Netflix has short films on there? I didn’t either, until yesterday. I came across Closing Dynasty directed by Llyod Lee Choi. The short film came out in 2023 and stars young actress Milinka Winata, Eleven Lee, and Allen Chen.

It takes place in New York, filming in a part not frequently seen on film, Chinatown.

The short film follows a little girl named Queenie in New York City. She spends the day trying to collect money, trying to get donations for her schools “basketball” team on the subway, selling roses, digging in the garbage.

We are told nothing about this girl or why she is looking for money. The audience knows only one thing: Queenie is a little kid in New York, alone, and begging for money.

The camera does this unique thing where it is filmed entirely from Queenie’s perspective, so it makes all of the visuals look impossibly big.

At one point, she sees a couple kissing, and is grossed out by it in the way only a little kid can be. She fiddles with a cigarette she’s picked up from the ground, with the expertise of someone who has seen someone do that before.

She sneaks into someone’s home during an open house, looking for something to take to sell. Again, nothing about Queenie’s story is told to us. Only that she is a child alone in New York, trying to make money.

Eventually, Queenie returns home. Home is a Chinese Restaurant where her father is selling off chairs to make ends meet. And we have no idea if the family ends up surviving or not.

The short film shows New York through an immigrant child’s eyes, and the pressures they face to help their family succeed and stay. New York is a big playground for Queenie, but it’s also a harsh place that forces her to grow up sooner than she should, as she realizes the difference between having money and not in the city early on.

It’s only a 16 minute film, but Llyod Lee Choi, who also wrote it, made it contain multitudes. Definitely worth the watch.