Andrea Aglieri’s 'The Day After' tells the story of a young man waking up one morning after a night of heavy drinking having the sense that something is not right with his life. After a couple of phone calls, the strange feeling persists and so is the confusion. The story is a classic type of boomerang action, happening in a well-delimited space. The main character is put in the situation of having déjà vu after déjà vu; his life is a continuous hangover that goes away and comes back later on.

 

If we take a closer look, 'The Day After' can be a modern interpretation of the biblical story of Jonah, the man who was swallowed by a giant whale and spent time inside the whale in deep introspection. This story has many moments of deep and quiet introspection, where the main character discovers himself and in the same time discovers and rediscovers the world around him, even if the whole space is small and slightly familiar.

 

The script was very well written, being smart and dramatic at the same time. For a cultivated viewer this short can raise many questions about life and space, or better, about the relativity of time and space, and also the relativity of the human mind and actions. The editing was really neat for an experimental short movie, having the right amount of “experiment” to not be confounded with a regular fiction. The main actor was remarkable, having a quite difficult part, but playing it with his heart and soul. His “dialogue” with the viewer is descriptive enough to understand the moods and the (hidden) messages behind. The fact that this short goes in a perfect circularity makes it one great piece we really recommend to any movie enthusiast out there.

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Written by Vlad A. G