As we have mentioned many times before, the lockdowns all over the world led a number of filmmakers to shoot ‘quarantine films', usually shorts in the most minimalist terms, abiding by the rules of the governments during the pandemic. The result was a series of interesting titles and others that barely had a reason for existence. Mithun Debnath shoots his own version, by invoking a sense of longing that is also connected with the health measures.
“Just Another Day… Without You” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
The film begins with a man sitting on a bench by the street, with the music and the narration communicating a sense of sadness and longing for something lost. Through flashbacks, we see him spending time with his beautiful, always smiling wife, in what seems to be a rather joyous life. Alas, one day, he forgets to take his mask as he goes shopping, and she to give it to him, and expectantly, his omission leads to a tragedy.
Mithun Debnath tries to create a film that is dramatic and also communicates a message about the consequences of not following health measures, even after people are vaccinated. However, the ways he goes about both his goals are rather faulty. The constant use of music in order to create a sense of longing becomes annoying after a point, even if the short is just 7 minutes long, while, in combination with the recurring image of a man combing his hair in slow motion, lingers somewhere between the cliche and the laughable, instead of dramatic. The way he goes about presenting the cautionary message is both too obvious and sanctimonious, while the fact that he seems to place some blame to the wife for forgetting to give the mask to the man, can only be perceived as ridiculous. The same applies to the presentation of their happy life, which seems to be a result of the wife always being eager to serve her man what he wants, with a smile on her face, receiving a “Bengal Beauty” title as her only return.
Essentially, the only redeeming quality of the movie is the presence of Sudipta Chakraborty in the role of the wife, with her evident charisma and her smile filling the screen every time she appears on it, while her presentation of the sickness is rather convincing. Abhijit Saha's cinematography in the interior shots is adequate, with the same applying to the editing of those scenes by Kaustav Chakraborty.
“Just Another Day… Without You” is a rather faulty movie with very few ticks in the pros column, and perhaps a testament to the fact that there have already been enough quarantine films.
