A Day (2011)

Delicately crafted and emotionally engaging

If you've had a bad day or are feeling down, I can't recommend this short film enough. Come walk with a 90-year-old woman as she puts on her best dress and shoes to go out and buy tangerines in A Day.

Grandmother finishes the last tangerine for her breakfast as the good spirited, but invalid Grandfather lies on his mat. On her way to the fruit stand to purchase more tangerines she meets women in various stages of life---a child singing on her tricycle, a harried woman in her car, a middle-aged woman hustling for every cent, and a young girl creating paper airplanes out of memories. Grandmother observes and interacts with them with humor and generosity.

The acting is beautifully natural and compelling with few words spoken. Gentle, classical music flows in the background. History reminisced becomes reality rewarded with a tangerine. An undercurrent showing the hardships of elderly poverty never drives away the hopeful mood. Oozing with kindness and bittersweet reflections, A Day is a day trip worth visiting.

“All the time it is the same, ‘Tick tock, tick tock.’”

20 November 2024

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