The kid can play some violin, everyone can act, and the director plays your heartstrings without beating you over the head with cliches. The characters are well-rounded, as alcoholic, loser dad is still a dad and can put his son first. A lot of things happen in just twenty minutes. Also, a nice simplicity to the film, I suppose common with shorts? Hard to say, since one rarely ever sees them. Also, have to say that I really thought it was a nice touch seeing the kid switch suddenly to "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" when dad tried to get him to play for money on the streets. A lot was said about how the kid viewed his music and his dad in that one scene. If you get a chance to see this movie, do so.