.png)
★★★★
Directed by: Sian Carry
Written by: Sian Carry
Starring: Nadhia Porcelli, Georgia Parker-Aiken
Plenty of balloons, beautiful piano music, unpleasant situations and no dialogue. These are the experiences Sian Carry's surreal comedy drama short film A Very Bad Day will present to the audience.
The concept is quite interesting. Set in a world where people constantly carry a bunch of balloons with them wherever they go, the plot follows a young woman (Porcelli) as she seems to be having a rather unpleasant day. And every time she gets upset, she uses a pin to pop one of her balloons. A cyclist nearly hits her while she is walking and she bursts a balloon. A male co-worker she fancies turns out to be gay: pop goes another balloon. Another customer buys the muffin she had been eyeing in a sweet shop: pop again! Although the poor girl goes through a lot, things take a turn for the better later.
The heroine played by Porcelli has an unusual appearance. She I wearing a beautiful dress and hairband, resembling a princess in a fairy tale. And Porcelli delivers a very entertaining and convincing performance as a girl who appears to be carefree and constantly grinning. As mentioned the film has no spoken word and therefore all actors use face expressions and body language in order to express their characters' emotions. And Porcelli does that very effectively by showing feelings of joy, frustration and anger, without uttering a single word.
What the balloons represent in the film could be open to interpretation. Balloons are often used at birthday parties and other special occasions. They represent celebrations. They represent happiness. Therefore by holding balloons in their hands, the characters in the film are showing that they are happy. And when a balloon gets popped, it could mean that their positiveness is decreasing.
Composer Rebecca Hooper has created a magnificent score that adds great value to the film. With the exception of balloons bursting, the music is the only other sound heard throughout the film. With this technique the viewer is brought back in time to the silent film era, only with colours.
A Very Bad Day is a very interesting piece of filmmaking that will most likely provide the audience with a pleasant experience.
.png)
