Life in a Day 2020

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Life in a Day 2020
Life in a Day 2020 poster.jpg
Film poster
Directed byKevin Macdonald
Produced byJack Arbuthnott
Tim Partridge
Edited byMdhamiri Á Nkemi
Nse Asuquo
Sam Rice-Edwards
Music byMatthew Herbert
Harry Gregson-Williams
Production
companies
YouTube
RSA Films
Flying Object
Distributed byYouTube Originals
Release dates
  • February 1, 2021 (2021-02-01) (Sundance)
  • February 6, 2021 (2021-02-06) (YouTube)
Running time
86 minutes
CountryUnited States

Life in a Day 2020 is a 2021 American crowd-sourced documentary film directed by Kevin Macdonald. The sequel to the 2011 film Life in a Day, it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on February 1, 2021, and on YouTube February 6, to generally favorable critical reviews.[1] Like its predecessor, it comprises a wide array of selected video clips showing things happening in the world on one day: July 25, 2020.[2]

Theme and production[]

The announcement of the film was published on the movie's YouTube channel on July 8, 2020,[3] coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic, the George Floyd protests, natural disasters, etc., which Sundance Film Festival director Tabitha Jackson sees as "the perfect time to premiere this for a new edition of a work that so powerfully demonstrates the power of cinematic storytelling to reveal and celebrate our shared humanity".[2]

The film follows the same structure as its 2011 predecessor, comprising selected vlogs of people all around the world, talking about themselves on the same day, July 25, 2020. Submissions were open from July 25 to August 2.[4][5] A team of multilingual editors and researchers selected noteworthy submissions.[2]

Kevin Macdonald sees the film as a "time capsule," stating:[6]

I guess any movie reflects its moment, whether you consciously want it to or not, but this even more so. I think it will be a time capsule for the ages. We're living through this time of great political upheaval, and that's maybe at the forefront of our thoughts. But for a lot of people, the lived day-to-day experience, which is what I'm hoping we'll capture in the film, is not going to be about those big issues, at least not directly. It's going to be about, you know, 'it's bath time for the baby,' or, 'what do I do on my Saturday off,' or, 'I don't have enough food to eat, and here's how I get by.' I always say to people, 'What's boring to you, what's normal to you, is gonna be fascinating to other people.'

The producers did not compensate individual film-makers whose work was included for their creative efforts, although they were credited as co-directors of the project.[7]

Critical response[]

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes had Life in a Day 2020 an overall critical percentage of 71 using 21 reviews (15 positive and 6 negative), with an average rating of 6.70 out of 10.[8]

Most critics came to an agreement that the film is a comprehensive depiction of life during the COVID-19 pandemic,[9][10][11] with the Chicago Sun-Times calling it "wholly predictable yet undeniably effective",[12] and Variety comparing it favorably with its predecessor for focusing on highlighting themes of unity, though noted that this approach caused the film to lack themes of "seeking and stressing life’s more diverse and disorienting juxtapositions".[13] Many also praise the choice of videos and compilation style, which they observed to be emotional and heartwarming, feelings ambient in a variety of ways during the pandemic,[14][9][10] though Variety called certain choices "irregular",[13] and Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian criticized its apparent context-free nature and that the compilation "look[s] more like a corporate ad". He, however, praised many of the videos, which he found to be lively.[15]

The San Francisco Chronicle's G. Allen Johnson went so far as comparing the film to that of the Voyager Golden Record, labelling Life in a Day 2020 "an ethnographic record of our planet in a moment of time", and expresses anticipation for future follow-ups.[11]

References[]

  1. ^ Desborough, Jenny (July 11, 2020). "Life In A Day 2020: How YOU can take part in new Life In A Day film". Express.co.uk. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Ritman, Alex (July 8, 2020). "Kevin Macdonald, Ridley Scott to Reunite for 'Life in a Day 2020,' 10 Years on From Crowdsourced Original". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 11, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ "Make a movie with Ridley Scott and Kevin Macdonald | Film your day July 25". Life in a Day (via YouTube). July 8, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ "Life in a Day". YouTube Originals. Retrieved July 11, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ ""Life in a Day 2020": οι Ρίντλεϊ Σκοτ & Κέβιν ΜακΝτόναλντ επιστρέφουν σ' ένα πρότζεκτ που μοιάζει πιο επίκαιρο από ποτέ - FLIX". Flix (in Greek). July 8, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ Aquilina, Tyler (July 8, 2020). "YouTube wants your quarantine videos (and more) for 'Life in a Day 2020'". EW.com. Retrieved July 11, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ "Life in a Day 2020: FAQs". docs.google.com. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  8. ^ Life in a Day 2020 (2021), retrieved April 7, 2021
  9. ^ a b Collin, Robbie (February 2, 2021). "Life in a Day 2020, review: peering into the lives of others was more fun before Covid". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Review: If July 25 went by too fast for you, 'Life in a Day 2020' relives the highs and lows". Los Angeles Times. February 5, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  11. ^ a b Johnson, G. Allen. "Review: 'Life in a Day 2020' shows diversity of human existence on a single pandemic-era day". Datebook | San Francisco Arts & Entertainment Guide. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  12. ^ Roeper, Richard (February 4, 2021). "'Life in a Day 2020': A lot can happen worldwide in 24 hours". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Lodge, Guy (February 2, 2021). "'Life in a Day 2020' Review: Slickly Crowdsourced YouTube Doc Sticks to Old Forms in a Changing Age of Video". Variety. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  14. ^ "Sundance Film Festival 2021: Black Talent and Great Films Shine". dwightbrownink.com. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  15. ^ "Life in a Day 2020 review – ambitious, bizarre and hugely exasperating". The Guardian. February 2, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.

External links[]

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