Jingle All The Way

Wow this was good. A very strong contender from Raumati Anti Social Club, helmed by Ro Tierney from former 48 legends Cinema In Decline. Seriously top class directing Ro! A biopic of the antihero we all need in our lives, one who prioritises saving lives no matter the cost, although his life is also driven by meeting the high standards of his former superstar salesman dad.

Honestly, a seriously impressive amount of storytelling was jammed into the 5 minutes but it never felt rushed, and thanks to the advantage of the heats being online this year it managed to achieve something rare in 48 Hours which was to have me laughing harder on the second watch.

Despite the apple falling a bit far from the tree in terms of the golden sales touch his father possessed, our lead showed a never give up attitude and love for jingles throughout their life. Wonderful script and a seering indictment of salespeople in general.

Super good sound and blinking heck the camerawork was clean. I especially liked how you peeled back the layers with each heartbeat of the story's progression. Epic finale, sinister but through provoking (260 saved vs 1 lost? Not my place to comment!) and the animated conclusion brought joy to my heart.

Now the take it or leave its for me were the interview/mockumentary framing as a plot device. Not a fan myself but it was minimally used, and given it actually drove the story it is hard to criticise. Also for someone so obsessed with jingles and theoretically with years of musical training he didn't really give that impression? But I suppose that was the point and worked as black comedy in that regard.

Just a really, really great film. Definite Wellington finals. Maybe Nationals...

Story: 5/5
Technical: 4.5/5
Elements: 5/5
Overall: 5/5