It’s Such a Beautiful Day is an animated art film created about 5 years ago by Don Hertzfeldt. In a roller coaster of out of context scenes shrouded in randomness which slowly turns into an emotion plateau that can touch even the coldest of hearts, the film does an excellent job in displaying what we, as average people, want most out of our time on earth: a clear and meaningful experience.
The film is actually 3 short films tied together as one, each smaller film being made at a different time. Hertzfelt said that he had the inspiration to create the overall film from learning about a WWII survivor who, during his “death march” through his hometown, saw everything in a much more unique and wider perspective. Things that the man had seen everyday and considered to be mundane were amazing to ponder about and appreciate, but only at the what seems to be the end. People that he recognized but did not care about, particular aesthetics on homes, even street lamps all gave him euphoria that was not experienced in everyday life.
To summarize, the film’s one and only protagonist is a stick figure named Bill. Bill has an unknown mental illness that forces him to see everything from a closed and blurred perspective. He has his mother and an ex girlfriend as companions who seem to check up on him at certain points throughout the film. As his condition worsens, he begins to forget where he is, distorts past memories to the point of falsehood, and cannot tell the difference between the past and present. When his illness comes to a peak, and his death is imminent, the black and white stick figure animations and closed perspective shots suddenly turn into color and real life footage, representing Bill’s sudden change of perspective of his existence.
The overarching theme that seems to touch most people is the idea that life and our routines appear to be mundane until we are put into a circumstance that breaks that routine. We tend to see life in a closed and blurred view due to our boredness. This is represented by the extremely unique shots that the film is made in: black circles with every picture being a little out of full view and unclear context. The result, in the end, is something that touches you to the core. You begin to see that life has meaning and even the smallest entities that are considered insignificant become so impactful that it seems to rock the spectrum of what triggers certain emotions. It makes you want to simply say “It’s such a beautiful day”.
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