Two friends, engineers, deal with some social mores in 1951 Chicago, while coming to terms with their pasts and looking forward to the future all in the hopes to live free, happy and in peace. Some themes: Immigrant experience in the US, English as second language, interracial marriages, the beat generation, actions and consequences, gentrification, pursuit of happiness, fight for freedom and its personal cost.

Review by Julie C. Sheppard:

Freedom without fear is one of the overarching themes of this compelling short, Beats and Keeps. Convincingly set in Chicago in the fall of 1951, the film captures the period with thoughtfully chosen wardrobe of the era. Royalty-free jazz music from just before the film’s date listed on screen also sets the atmosphere. 

The film’s screenplay digs down deeply about the trauma deriving from war in two different areas of the world, Puerto Rico and Pakistan. This shared experience of trauma is a bond that unites the two central leads – – the performances of these actors are sensitively done. Each actor delivers text with reflective deliberation. You can sense their struggles of trying to move on, despite great pain and loss of loved ones, in their respective parts of the globe. It is also clear why they are friends given their care and fondness for one another.  

Other supporting performances of the cast are also subtle and respectful. The cinematography is close and intimate, notably when the leads make heartfelt admissions about their past relationships. Prefaced by a philosophical intro on the origins of happiness, it predicts a project that delves into the human response to past political strife and loss, and the resulting euphoria of being able to move past fear, and escape to freedom.