Recommended Short Film - The Last Letter
"A short film about reality that is unique to every one of us and one that we, unfortunately, cannot share with another human being"
By Vishesh Mankal
We live fairly literal lives. Every
moment of our existence is ostensibly comprised of things that are tangible and
exist squarely in the “now”. The cushion of the chair you are sitting on, the
plaster on the walls around you, the feel of the ground beneath your feet; all
these things collectively make up what we refer to as reality. And this
particular reality is objective, quantifiable and is the same for everyone. But
there is another kind of reality that is not so easily defined. This reality is
informed by our individual experiences and fashioned from the nebulous memories
we derive from those experiences. This reality can’t be touched, can't be
heard, can’t be seen and, unfortunately, can’t be shared. And it is this
reality that holds the most power over us. No matter where we go, we bring it
along. “The Last Letter” is a film about this reality; the reality that is
unique to every one of us and one that we, unfortunately, cannot share with
another human being.
The film’s plot is quite simple. A middle-aged man reads the last letter his wife wrote to him before passing and remembers the way they first met and how their love slowly blossomed over time. As the film goes on, the boundaries between reality, memory and fantasy begin to dissolve and we are taken on a journey through the emotional landscape of the inner and outer lives of the couple. Two timelines are depicted in the film; one takes place in the present and the other in the past. The film’s director, Aadeep Sharma, chooses to distinguish the two by showing one in monochrome and the other in full colour. The usual practice is to drain colour from flashbacks. Aadeep Sharma, however, chooses to flip this practice on its head and elects to show the present in monochrome instead. Of course, thematically speaking the reason for this is quite simple; all colour has been sucked from the main character’s life after his wife’s passing and the only colour that exists, for him exists now only in the past. However, just because a creative choice is easily explained does not mean it has no merit. It’s an interesting choice that not many would have thought to make. The rest of the film regrettably lacks that same level of technical invention, but the story and the themes are good enough to carry things on their own nonetheless.
Although the film will not dazzle you with technical expertise or seduce you with
grandiose showmanship, it’s still worth watching because it is honestly made.
And that’s something which cannot be said about many films. Give it a watch if
you are in the mood for something that doesn’t ruffle any feathers or break
down any walls. Not because it can’t, but simply because it doesn’t want to.
“The Last Letter” is happy being itself and if you engage with it on that
level, you will also emerge satisfied on the other end.
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