Use of Budget
The film’s $1300 budget was spent on sound design ($450), a composer for all of the scenes ($200), equipment ($250), miscellaneous expenses ($70), and – an expense we often don’t see here – a storyboard artist ($300). The director mentioned that this was a necessary expense, since the film was a collaboration between himself and a college theater troupe, and they required a storyboard be submitted with the script. Though I have never heard of this before, it is a great idea. I would certainly encourage other microfilmmakers out there to keep an eye out for troupes that offer this kind of service, or to talk to ones that don’t. It’s a total win-win situation – the actors get credit and experience for their portfolios, and a filmmaker gets experienced actors for their project. Overall, I would say this was a reasonable budget.
But Kristin's sometimes distant
behavior bothers Amdrew...
...And he set out to show her
just how much he cares.
Lasting Appeal
This film has a great element of realism – we have all had silly crushes, and we have all done some incredibly stupid and/or embarrassing things because of them. Andrew’s crazy attempts at getting Kristin’s attention really made me laugh, as well as the grief he gets from his roommate. A viewing audience would easily be able to identify with him (whether they would admit to it or not.)
There really is not a lot that might still need attention in this movie; just a few minor technical issues, mostly. In addition, the few logic questions, mentioned earlier, could use a bit of attention, possibly through some re-shoots or re-edits.
Overall Comment
Too many romantic comedies today are full of perfect (or nearly perfect) people and attempts at humor that only try to be funny by being lowbrow. It is refreshing to see a film like The Girl From Yesterday, where the viewer can identify with the characters. There are few bigger compliments for a filmmaker than when an audience member relates to a movie, points to the screen, and says, “I did that when I was a kid/teenager/college student!” The ability to identify with an audience is difficult to master, and this movie certainly has done it.
The
author of half a dozen screen plays, two novels, and a proficient
camera-woman in her own right, Monika
DeLeeuw-Taylor is Microfilmmaker's lead writing analyst and
one of our top film reviewers. When she's not writing a critique for
Microfilmmaker, she's writing screenplays for Viking Productions.
