Don Hertzfeldt
Watched "It's Such A Beautiful Day" by Don Hertzfeldt today for what I think is like the 4th time I've watched it. It's amazing, there are no other words.
I found out that Don had made the film free for the time being, while everyone's locked up and in need of entertainment. You can check his tweet about it here: https://twitter.com/donhertzfeldt/status/1240681279269543937. It's super nice that he did this, and I'm very thankful.
I must have watched it not too long ago, but I had honestly forgotten most of what was in the movie, in a really refreshing way.
I think I'm going to try and just say whatever I thought about the film, so if anyone's reading this and is afraid of spoilers, might want to read what's coming up after you've watched it.
Okay so now that the disclaimer's there...
After watching the film, I'm left with this odd uncomfortable feeling that I have to live my life fuller. Which is kind of those feelings that I don't like getting from films that deal with death. Because then of course I have to live my life to the fullest, dude I'm gonna fucking die someday. That's enough of a motivator, of course. Like I don't know if I needed a movie to tell me that. If you catch my drift. So I think because of that, that one scene where Bill is imagining dying in a bed surrounded by relatives he barely remembers, it didn't sit too well with me. Wow I didn't really go into this blog expecting to criticize the piece, but I guess it just came out.
What else is left in me, is this feeling of pure wonder. The flickering images of trees and neighborhoods and sometimes even just grass. The narrator says that Bill felt more in tune of the beauty of the world, and I again felt that it was something that didn't need to be spelled out verbally. But there were times that it wasn't, and those were beautiful. Lots of images. The view of the back window of the car when it's dark, that got me. That was nice. And it made me think that things that I find beautiful in this world don't have to be extravagant.
After another thorough view, it makes sense that I didn't remember a lot of the details in the movie. There are a lot. It's a collage of thoughts that trail after each other. For how many times I've said that sometimes the narrator puts adages in your mind like the instances I've mentioned above ("You'll die someday, live life to its fullest!" "Observe the beauty around you!!"), there were also times ideas were just beautifully placed in front of me. Like when the narrator says that Bill got to the point where he couldn't tell the difference between reality and his imagination. All of a sudden the elaborate story we just heard about how his family and ancestors had suffered from mental health issues similar to his, loses its credibility. So Bill didn't have that crazy grandmother who rubs cat heads on her forehead? Who am I to believe then? What's going on? And then all of a sudden the story of uncertainty, the inner mind of Bill, is that much realer.
It was also interesting how sometimes the story doesn't really stop for anyone. At least not for me, it went by way too quickly. Especially that part where he meets his father at the daycare, forgives him, and then drives away. It was like, I forgive you, aww sweet moment, and then boom Bill's driving this invisible car that goes way too quickly. It was actually funny. It was never in-your-face humor, it was like when I was completely thrown away and all I could do was laugh. Don is very good at adding those elements in.
Also the imagery that comes in and out of the story. The fish in Bill's head, "possibly a trout". People as a combination of brain and stem, surrounded each by a meat shield of sorts, but really inside just bouncing brains all around. It added to this idea of feeling familiar with Bill's mind, and felt like a really natural extension of what must be going on inside of him: familiar images floating around, without context but somehow makes perfect sense. Almost like a dream. Not to mention the flickering images that were just so beautifully presented, that really encapsulate what memories feel like.
One scene that stuck in my heart was when Bill found out his mom had, in a notebook, practiced her handwriting for the notes that said "I'm so proud of you!" when she put it in his lunch. That hit deep. Fuck.
And then the ending. Upon reflecting on it, it's hard to say much about it. I'm like shit, if I couldn't die, what would I do? And I guess I'd do exactly what Bill did. Learn, meet people, fall in love again and again and again. Feel the earth burn underneath me, see the last star go out.
So that's pretty much what I have to say for now. I'm sort of feeling stuck about the fact that, when I watch things I always think about what they've taught me. And while Bill's story taught me about a few things for sure, I now think that to just see "It's such a beautiful day" as a piece that's supposed to teach me something is ironically pretty shortsighted. Don Hertzfeldt did an incredible job putting together a piece that says more than what words can say. The floating head in the clouds. The flickering between streets and animation, the images of rain falling softly on the camera. The simple showing of the sun shining through the leaves. The simple yet meaningful movements of Bill, putting his hat on his lap, gently caressing his own head. The pictures that whir through way too quickly for me to know what they are, but convey a feeling all too familiar. If words were enough, I would've read a book.
Well, that's my pretty unorganized review of "It's Such A Beautiful Day" by Don Hertzfeldt. It was an amazing film, and it's for sure one of my most favorite films. It's amazing. It's a masterpiece. There's really no other way of putting it. Please watch it if you haven't.
I found out that Don had made the film free for the time being, while everyone's locked up and in need of entertainment. You can check his tweet about it here: https://twitter.com/donhertzfeldt/status/1240681279269543937. It's super nice that he did this, and I'm very thankful.
I must have watched it not too long ago, but I had honestly forgotten most of what was in the movie, in a really refreshing way.
I think I'm going to try and just say whatever I thought about the film, so if anyone's reading this and is afraid of spoilers, might want to read what's coming up after you've watched it.
Okay so now that the disclaimer's there...
After watching the film, I'm left with this odd uncomfortable feeling that I have to live my life fuller. Which is kind of those feelings that I don't like getting from films that deal with death. Because then of course I have to live my life to the fullest, dude I'm gonna fucking die someday. That's enough of a motivator, of course. Like I don't know if I needed a movie to tell me that. If you catch my drift. So I think because of that, that one scene where Bill is imagining dying in a bed surrounded by relatives he barely remembers, it didn't sit too well with me. Wow I didn't really go into this blog expecting to criticize the piece, but I guess it just came out.
What else is left in me, is this feeling of pure wonder. The flickering images of trees and neighborhoods and sometimes even just grass. The narrator says that Bill felt more in tune of the beauty of the world, and I again felt that it was something that didn't need to be spelled out verbally. But there were times that it wasn't, and those were beautiful. Lots of images. The view of the back window of the car when it's dark, that got me. That was nice. And it made me think that things that I find beautiful in this world don't have to be extravagant.
After another thorough view, it makes sense that I didn't remember a lot of the details in the movie. There are a lot. It's a collage of thoughts that trail after each other. For how many times I've said that sometimes the narrator puts adages in your mind like the instances I've mentioned above ("You'll die someday, live life to its fullest!" "Observe the beauty around you!!"), there were also times ideas were just beautifully placed in front of me. Like when the narrator says that Bill got to the point where he couldn't tell the difference between reality and his imagination. All of a sudden the elaborate story we just heard about how his family and ancestors had suffered from mental health issues similar to his, loses its credibility. So Bill didn't have that crazy grandmother who rubs cat heads on her forehead? Who am I to believe then? What's going on? And then all of a sudden the story of uncertainty, the inner mind of Bill, is that much realer.
It was also interesting how sometimes the story doesn't really stop for anyone. At least not for me, it went by way too quickly. Especially that part where he meets his father at the daycare, forgives him, and then drives away. It was like, I forgive you, aww sweet moment, and then boom Bill's driving this invisible car that goes way too quickly. It was actually funny. It was never in-your-face humor, it was like when I was completely thrown away and all I could do was laugh. Don is very good at adding those elements in.
Also the imagery that comes in and out of the story. The fish in Bill's head, "possibly a trout". People as a combination of brain and stem, surrounded each by a meat shield of sorts, but really inside just bouncing brains all around. It added to this idea of feeling familiar with Bill's mind, and felt like a really natural extension of what must be going on inside of him: familiar images floating around, without context but somehow makes perfect sense. Almost like a dream. Not to mention the flickering images that were just so beautifully presented, that really encapsulate what memories feel like.
One scene that stuck in my heart was when Bill found out his mom had, in a notebook, practiced her handwriting for the notes that said "I'm so proud of you!" when she put it in his lunch. That hit deep. Fuck.
And then the ending. Upon reflecting on it, it's hard to say much about it. I'm like shit, if I couldn't die, what would I do? And I guess I'd do exactly what Bill did. Learn, meet people, fall in love again and again and again. Feel the earth burn underneath me, see the last star go out.
So that's pretty much what I have to say for now. I'm sort of feeling stuck about the fact that, when I watch things I always think about what they've taught me. And while Bill's story taught me about a few things for sure, I now think that to just see "It's such a beautiful day" as a piece that's supposed to teach me something is ironically pretty shortsighted. Don Hertzfeldt did an incredible job putting together a piece that says more than what words can say. The floating head in the clouds. The flickering between streets and animation, the images of rain falling softly on the camera. The simple showing of the sun shining through the leaves. The simple yet meaningful movements of Bill, putting his hat on his lap, gently caressing his own head. The pictures that whir through way too quickly for me to know what they are, but convey a feeling all too familiar. If words were enough, I would've read a book.
Well, that's my pretty unorganized review of "It's Such A Beautiful Day" by Don Hertzfeldt. It was an amazing film, and it's for sure one of my most favorite films. It's amazing. It's a masterpiece. There's really no other way of putting it. Please watch it if you haven't.
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