«A Story of Two Eggs» is not Suraj Dalvi's first time behind the camera – in fact it is his fifth short film as a director. His latest work reflects upon consequences of the current sanitary crisis.
“A Story of Two Eggs” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
A family of two children, a son and daughter, lives on the outskirt of a village. They have hens; their only potential source of familial income as the mother is a housewife and the father lost his job due to COVID. The camera follows the family's struggles as they try to cope with the economic consequences of the complicated situation we're in. They are starving and trying to survive.
It's interesting to watch COVID realities in fictions on screen. Seeing people wearing a mask, for example, is something we wouldn't have really considered two years ago (unless it was for two second on a K-drama, but then it would have been more of a cool and fashionable move, or the indication that the character was sick). And yet, here we are, in 2021. Watching characters wearing masks and thinking it's very much in line with our nowadays daily lives. Even if the characters don't actually wear it as they should (we still need to see the actor's faces), the process enforces the idea for viewers that the fiction being watched could be their reality and part of their world.
Even if it is mostly enjoyable to watch, «A Story of Two Eggs» has a few flaws : the editing sometimes lacks a bit of fluidity, it is at times melodramatic (some close-up inserts, dramatic music for the ‘bad guy', internal voice of the character as a voice-over), the ending is a bit rushed and would actually deserve more development.
Positive points deserve, however, to be highlighted. The Director of Photography, Akash Bankar, does a great job as the film is visually appealing. There are engaging camera movements. The colours are great. The sound is good.
It would be interesting to develop «A Story of Two Eggs» (maybe a feature ?) and work the characters, give them a bit more depth– which would allow the audience to really feel empathy towards them. Nonetheless, I didn't feel the 40 minutes go (just like a good Law and Order episode) and found the short visually appealing.
