Jason Sondhi
One of the deep pleasures of our active submission system is the way it allows past gems to bubble up. A lot of our research is spent looking for what’s NEW NEW NEW, when there is a wealth of great work out there.
Only on the Internet of course could I call a short that was a Vimeo Staff Pick 3 years ago “old”, but in the fast paced world of online video, a 3 month-old film can easily be forgotten. So it’s our pleasure to highlight Happy Hour today, a lovely, meandering experimental narrative that depicts the difficulty and resignation that comes with being a late-night NYC bartender.
Happy Hour is a observant slice-of-life piece. Blending verite-style photography of our protagonist “Utah” at work, and supplemented by direct interviews, Benjamin Villeda presents his story in documentary-form. It is only in the film’s more experimental bits that the sculpted structure of the piece shows. Utilizing grimy black and white photography, the film looks as though it would be very much in place in the 80’s heyday of American indie. It is an observant snapshot of hip lives lived.
And yet there is a melancholy core to the film. A semi-tragic love story is interwoven by Villeda with “Mallory”, Utah’s love, his muse, but whom his late night schedule frequently separates him from. Connection is grabbed through long voicemails and hypnotic encounters that may be dreams. Utah’s laments about the arrangement contrast in fascinating ways with the drunks and party-goers he serves. Entrenched in a world of both joy and sadness, Utah’s own lack of feeling and verve is drawn out in sharp relief. Utilizing the faux-documentary conceit, these feelings are not merely intimated but explicated, as Utah proves himself to be eloquent and self-aware about the hamster wheel he’s found himself on. This insight does not spur action however, as he is defeated, resigned, surrendering to his circumstances.
A fascinating character portrait on its own story merits, Happy Hour proves itself to be a complete package through its experimental narrative style, its photography and effective utilization of split screen. When you put it all together, you end up with what we promised—a gem of a short film.