FORGOTTEN BY NOELLA MINGO
Directed by Noella Mingo / Reviewed by Adva Reichman
Forgotten is a beautiful short film about feeling alone and the negative emotions that can arise from it. I don’t know whether this was inspired by Covid 19, but it is definitely relevant for too many people nowadays.
Just a few days ago I read a story about a young man who took his own life after loneliness and depression got the better of him.
Life during Covid 19 made him feel like there was no light at the end of the tunnel, and the outcome for that was heartbreaking. ‘Forgotten’ tries to remind you, you are not alone, and you are definitely not forgotten. It shows you other people struggle with the same feeling and that human connection, a good word, a letter even, can go a long way. if you take one thing from this film, let it be hope.
The film follows Bella, a young woman as she’s writing on her old typewriter. At first it seems like she is in the middle of a creative prose but can’t seem the to find the right words. She crumbles the different papers, throws them around and even turns them into paper planes. She then throws one outside the window, and it ends up landing by a house.
Rose, another young woman, opens the front door of her home and finds the plane. She takes it inside and reads it. Only then we finally see what was written on it, and get a glimpse into its writer’s heart. The words are simple and sincere, yet brutally honest.
Bella is lonely and it’s getting to be too much to handle. This plane is actually a cry for help and luckily for her, it didn’t fall on deaf ears.
Rose writes back and in a beautiful magical kind of way the paper plane lands back at Rose’s house. It is then that Bella realizes she is not alone. Her words were heard and acknowledged like she so desperately needed. Far from forgotten.
The cinematography, done by Damian Paul Daniel is beautiful and punctuated the feeling of loneliness and even hopelessness. The music played our heart strings while the simplicity of the situation intertwined with the importance of the message, made it into a beautiful little gem.
I do wish the film contained a bit more and dove deeper into the writer’s story, as it could have created an even bigger impact. However, the acting done by Ava Mingo-Daniel, who played Bella, and Taliah Leo-Kelly, who played Rose, made its way into the viewer’s heart and got the message across. The two women showed us what loneliness can be, but also what it doesn’t have to be. And for that, it was worth every second.
