The temptation – cell phone (2008)

Directed by: Marijn Frank | 11 minutes | short movie

You will hear the familiar tone of an incoming text message. It’s not from your phone, it’s from your partner’s. He or she takes the phone out of his or her pocket and reads the message with a smile on his or her face. Then the phone goes back in the pocket and you wonder: ‘whose message was that? What did it say that made him or her smile like that?’ This situation is probably familiar to everyone. Most people can easily get rid of this thought because they trust their partner and don’t need to know everything. But Marijn Frank cannot. She is so jealous and can’t resist the temptation to want to know everything about her boyfriend Victor. She wants to take his phone to read all the text messages but doubts whether she can do this. She knows it’s obsessive behavior but the temptation is too great.

After reading his text messages, she is anything but reassured. And in a way she is right, because modern technology makes it easier for people to cheat. This is also confirmed by an expert with whom she decides to talk. This creates even more uncertainty and she decides to set rules for texting. Thou shalt not text after bedtime. Thou shalt no more end a text message with kisses. Marijn goes a bit too far in her rules and after a conversation with Victor she realizes that she is going too far. A new rule arises: Thou shalt trust thy mate.

This short film about the jealous behavior of a young woman who can’t stand her boyfriend getting text messages without her knowing from whom, is recognizable and therefore very funny. Because Marijn is going too far in her behavior, you can laugh about it as a viewer and it is just a movie that you can enjoy watching. The film is part of the ‘De verleiding’, produced by IDTV, in which four young directors film the temptations they have to face. ‘The Temptation – Mobile’ is Marijn Frank’s second very personal film. She won the Tuschinski Award for her graduation film ‘Daddy is gone and I wanted to ask you some questions’.