Life In A Day | Documentary Review

by Rae Burns
(Los Angeles)

Wow! Just imagining the amount of video these guys had to sift through is mind boggling. If you are not familiar with this documentary, Life in a Day, the producers asked people to send them video to recount one day around the world. They must have had so many terrible videos to sift through. And to pull something relevant out of all of that is amazing indeed.

This was a great film with a simple idea. Simple ideas however can be some of the most complex to pull off. Ranging from videos of people in America talking about nothing important to families in Asia discussing the meaning of life, this film does a good job of showing the viewer what life is like on planet Earth. I know in previous space explorations we have sent gold plated records for our alien brothers to find to give them an idea of who we are and why we do what we do. I propose that the next time we send a spacecraft to float through space for generations we send this film.

Some people made more than one appearance in Life in A Day to help with continuity and movement. But for the most part, Life in A Day uses footage and people only once. Imagine, you could tell almost any story on mankind you could imagine with this approach. It would be easy to make life look like Jersey Shore and it could be just as easy to make look like nothing but war. The producers could have made humans out to be irrelevant thinkers or relevant comedians. The options are endless. In the end, I think the film does a good job of showing a little bit of everything.

My only, somewhat negative, comment is the final image the film leaves you with. This had to be a major bone of contention amongst the producers, "How do we wrap this thing up? How do we summarize everything that has been shown?". Again, the options, I imagine, were many. But in the end, I was left wondering if what they chose is what I would have chosen. Regardless of what I would have done, the film ends on a poignant note.

Sit back and watch our world unfold before your eyes. In this age of constant self-flattery, you will see how many people simply wanted to see themselves on TV. But many people were genuine and somewhat "unaware" of the camera; even though they put the camera on themselves. This film is just as much an unveiling of human vanity as it is about human struggles and joys.

Life In A Day | Documentary Trailer



Life In A Day Documentary Review

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