Life in a Day

UK Release: 17th June 2011

Watched on TV: Monday 7th November 2011

Rating: 12A

Genre: Documentary, Drama

Runtime: 1hr 35mins

Tagline: Filmed by You

IMDb Plot Synopsis: What do you get when you ask the people of the world to chronicle a single day in their lives? You get 80,000 submissions, 4500 hours of footage, from 192 countries. Kevin Macdonald has taken this raw material, all shot on July 24, 2010, and created a 90-minute paean to what it means to be human in the world today and serves as a time capsule to show future generations what it was like to be alive on the 24th of July, 2010.

My Review: Life in a day is way, way more emotional than I ever expected it to be. It isn’t as sentimental or cheesy than I expected either.

It was such a simple premise, which must have been daunting for the makers (what if there wasn’t enough decent footage?), but it completely paid off as the film is put together in an insanely clever way, which makes the world feel both bigger and smaller at the same time. It was bizarre to see Africans in huts, Chinese in the streets and Americans in their homes all answering the same questions. Questions on fear, love, possessions: all universal themes which effect every single person on this planet. It connects the world in a way that hasn’t been done before, showing us that we are all equal; we all have the same basic needs and emotions. It’s incredibly special and the way the film progresses through the day from the moon in the sky to a thunderstorm at night: it is as close to capturing earth for one day as we’re ever going to get. It was fascinating, captivating and gorgeous. Much of the footage was so impressive that it was hard to believe that it wasn’t done by professionals with millions of pounds to spend! Overall it was an immersive experience which was most importantly genuine and an honest look at the world and how we see each other.

The value of this film will only increase over time.... 

Score: 9/10

I’d also like to mention here that Britain in a Day starts tomorrow! So if you’re living in Britain - now’s your chance to be part of another very special project. Check out the website for details!