It's Such a Beautiful Day (2012)

Bill struggles to put together his shattered psyche, in this new feature film version of Don Hertzfeldt's animated short film trilogy.

Director:

Don Hertzfeldt

2 nominations.

Storyline

Bill struggles to put together his shattered psyche, in this new feature film version of Don Hertzfeldt's animated short film trilogy.

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Plot Keywords:

dark humor | stick figure | experimental | mental health | narration | 

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

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Details

Official Sites:

official website

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 May 2016 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Какой чудесный день

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bitter Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

62 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Don's previous work, The Meaning of Life, took substantially longer to animate. It's Such a Beautiful Day was made in a short time by not roughing drawings or inking them, instead just photographing pencils. The sped up workflow allowed for (but also necessitated) more experimentation with the camera.

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Quotes

Narrator: Bill picked up hid new medication, went home, and masturbated for seven hours.

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Connections

Featured in MsMojo: Top 10 Weirdest Animated Movies (2019)

User Reviews

It's Such A Beautiful Film.

I haven't seen a film as masterful as Don Hertzfeldt's It's Such a Beautiful Day that I had to watch it twice in two days in a long time. Comprised of three short films, of which were released from 2006-2011, for an hour long feature. It details the life, perspective and ancestry of Bill, a nondescript stickman who suffers from deliberating mental illness. Although it has a minimalist animation style, with simplistic pencilled-in stick figures and fractured splotched split screens contrasted with live action footage, Hertzfeldt manages to dig deep into the bleakest caverns of the psyche of the human condition, whilst also pointing out its silver linings. Even though it's obviously painstakingly animated, there's a liberating stream-of- conscience style with Hertzfeldt's omnipresent and omniscient narration.

Despite Bill's erratic state of mind, ostensibly from his family history, he's an incredibly relatable character from his fears, dreams and insecurities. The film is so on point that it's hard to shake a disorientating sense of anxiety from watching it due to its existentialism. The film is a remarkably abrasive experience from its density, firing off small vignettes of Bill's life in just a few seconds at a time, paired with an unnerving use of classical music. But with its absurdist take on life, the grounded sense of humour comes from its irreverent and idiosyncratic observations of trivial social faux pas. However, the only aspect that holds the film back is that it gets too nihilistic at times especially during the family flashbacks without purpose, often forgetting the theme of the title.

What's most powerful about the film is the way it approaches mortality. Among all the morbid cruelty of life, it manages something deeply poignant and profound in its casualness. It suggests death as a dumb, awkward stupid moment and in its irony it finds comfort. The final passage explores the consequence of immortality taking a common fantasy on a grand scale. The unbridled creativity, insight and ambition of Hertzfeldt is unparalleled. Both hilarious and gut-wrenching in equal measure, it's a thoroughly inspirational film as Hertzfeldt probably made this on one desk maybe in his bedroom. I implore everyone to spare an hour of their life to watch this. I'll definitely be watching It's Such a Beautiful Day many, many more times.

9/10