Somewhere in Japan, as the castles in the background highlight, Isa, a marathon runner from the Philippines, is training through the night. While she is running, she is reminiscing of a talk she had with her mother, all of which happens in English.
“The Voice in My Head” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
It turns out that the talk is half real and half in her mind, while the sure thing is that the generational gap is rather evident. Isa's mother mentions how weak women are, cautions her for running alone, and insists that she gets a rich husband, just like the other women their age they know. Night gives its stead to the day and vice versa, signifying that Isa's thoughts, and particularly the fact that she is thinking of how to tell her mother she is gay, have been tormenting her for some time. Eventually, she decides to call her, and her response is truly surprising.
Hamish Downie shoots a 6-minute short that makes two evident comments. The first one is how the thinking of people has changed through the generations, particularly now, with the concept of gayness and coming out being quite prevalent. The second revolves around understanding, and the benefits of speaking up, and thus communication, with the latter closing the short in a rather positive note.
Apart from context, however, and despite some beautiful images, courtesy of DP Paul Leeming, there is very little cinematic value here. That none of the protagonists actually speaks, since Narelle Katsumoto as Isa is narrating the thoughts in her mind and Vikki Thomas as Mother is just a voice on the point definitely adds to this sensation. The same applies to the fact that visually, the whole thing is just a woman running through the streets, which does not exactly make for a captivating experience.
As such, and although the job done in the sound is commendable, the whole thing emerges as more of a promotional/motivational video than an actual film. And since we have seen what Hamish Downie can do in “Matcha & Vanilla”, “The Voice in My Head” seems like a step back.
