The Man With A Plan

On 24 July 2010 80,000 people from 140 nations took part in a film experiment organised by You Tube. They uploaded film charting their life on that day. The result, over 400 hours of footage, was edited into a film called Life in a Day by Kevin Macdonald (Last King of Scotland) and produced by Tony and Ridley Scott.

This was an astonishing experiment in how well it worked and has been made into a truly life-affirming tribute to humanity. The film follows people from daybreak, as some people trudge to work, right to the last scenes as the clock strikes midnight.

There are so many wonderful stories told within the film. From the Korean man who left home nine years ago to cycle around the world in the hope that it will somehow unite his country, to the family coping with a wife and mother who has cancer. Yet in many ways the small stories steal the show – a man gets his son up in the morning, their routine incorporating lighting an incense candle for the boy’s dead mother; a shoe shine boy explains that Wikipedia is his window into art, maths, history and other knowledge; a couple marries in Vegas, the bride is walked up the aisle by an Elvis impersonator serenading her as the groom (also dressed like Elvis) awaits.

It is all unashamedly emotive stuff, yet the film never tries too hard to pull the heart strings – like all reality tv both humour and pathos naturally emerge from the scenes. It was a laugh out loud moment, for example, when we saw an American man encouraging his wife to feed some ducks, telling her that ducks don’t bite. Her reticence is funny; that the ducks are clearly seagulls though makes the scene hilarious.

In criticism, there is a lot more footage from America than anywhere else. Life in a Day directed in India, China, Russia or Brazil might have looked very different. The film also sanitised the human experience. The need to own a video camera meant that the plight of the poor is largely overlooked.

Nevertheless, it is an amazing piece of work which is well worth a cinematic release. I’d urge anyone to make an effort to see what is a fantastic example of our age of social collaboration.

See the trailer here.