In Light of the Day

I love that this film gives itself room to breathe and revel in a beautiful view that all we Cantabrians know – a view that helps us all put life in perspective. Then slowly the film reveals that all is not right. We are left to ponder the significance of a wedding ring.

This film is a touching comment on the harshness of corporate life and the way modern capitalism chews us up and spits us out. It's a timely reflection.

The performances in this were great. Sensitive and touching.

The end of the film has less plot advancement than I was expecting, with no explicit link back to the wedding ring, and yet it is perfect. We see that the character has grown. Even if something in life has gone wrong, something else in life has gone right.

This film features Lego *and* a rubber duck, both of which I've already seen in other 48Hours films this year. I can't help but wonder if these are required elements and I somehow missed the memo. Or maybe my absence from 48Hours in recent years has left me in the dark on some fun recurring gags.

I love how this film shows the emptiness of the corporate world, and contrasts it with the deep meaningfulness of both nature and relationships. The main character is clearly having a disastrous time in his life - and yet (as I understand it) this is not getting in between him and his girlfriend - he has an engagement ring for her, and tells his parents (I presume) that he and her will be visiting that weekend, presumably planning to give her the ring and then visit to share the happy news with them. His difficulties at work do not destroy him, they drive him to the hills for peace, and to his partner and family for meaning and purpose. Life may be uncertain given his employment situation, but he can face it with them.

My big takeaway from this one was 'how lucky are we, living in beautiful Ōtautahi?!' Some great visuals in this one with a well thought through arc. Nice job!

Stunning visuals! Beautiful to watch - hubby immediately recognised his homeland and has starting looking at flights for a visit. I did wonder if the genre was taken a tad too loosely here, as the focus felt like it was less on his experiences along the walk shaping him, and more about flashbacks elsewhere, but maybe I'm taking the genre (and the movie perhaps) way too literally.

It's easy to forget that Christchurch can be this pretty. A touching film on finding yourself and reconnecting with family when the world is looking down on you and that's always something I can get behind. Great job team

I was HYPED when I saw the 15 second trailer on the 48 hours page. The drone shots and landscaped DELIVER! To critique, I think the film would have massively improved if the zoom call audio was cut, and the office sequence was seriously cut down into a 20 second montage, while our main character talks on the phone. Beautiful work and it was nice to see a serious film.

I would have liked a stronger statement at the end.
I understand that the film is about the sense of emptiness, but I feel a more full exploration of that feeling would also explore the development of that feeling, and potentially it's catharsis, or apotheosis (shout-out).

With everything going on, especially this year, this was very relatable/topical. Beautiful drone shots of Ōtautahi. Loved how the ending scene segwayed into our films starting scene! Nice work guys, very beautiful shots. How lucky are we living here?!

Well done. Will mimic Buddy's thoughts above on the office scene. A great choice of setting using the hills as your characters thoughts roam about him. Nice use of drone, appreciated you colour matched the drone footage with the ground camera as best you could. Which can be jarring if not done right.

Great stuff. Looking forward to your film next year.

Some beautiful shots in here, team! The opening shot really had us hooked.

And thennnnnn… we kinda got a bit lost in the empty space, unfortunately. Earnest films are hard to make, so kudos to you for giving it a shot, and your lead performer is really committed to it which we have mad respect for. The office scene and firing of the main character felt pretty jarring compared to the beautiful outdoor work, and the flashback shots of that firing at the end felt so out of place they actually made us chuckle. Just a bit hard to follow in the end! But reading these reviews above do help us piece some of that together...

THE BEST THING: Some great cinematography.

THE NEXT THING: We noticed no writer credit at the end of the film — we suppose that means you all contributed. Perhaps that’s a pair of shoes for someone to step into! Bring someone on board with writing as their dominant strength and we’re sure it’ll take Bruce’s Babysitters to the next level. Well done and we look forward to seeing next year's entry!