72 Kg by Thamar

72 Kg by Thamar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQtIh8htZpU

"72 Kg" is a 3:52 short film by Thamar, runner up in the Dubai International Film Festival. The narrative follows one man's decision to help a homeless man, though his intention is not fully revealed until the end. The film has no dialogue, and relies on the visuals to tell its story.

The film starts off with a shot of a metal can on the side of a road, composed fully on the screen in a close up. The title "72 kg" is superimposed over the top in white. In the background, cars drive by, and the sky shows that it is evening. As well as this, cars are heard driving by. This sets the context of a busy evening by the road. Next, a foot appears next to the can, and drops change into it. By assumption, the audience now knows that this is the can of a homeless man, as that is the type of can people normally drop change into.

As the change drops, the music starts, and the title disappears. The music consists of lots of single piano notes, which sets the mood, and lets the audience empathise with the homeless man. The man is revealed in a long shot of the path. He sits, his clothes show that he is homeless, as he is wearing old but warm clothes, so that he can last in the cold nights.  There is a close up of the man, as his eyes follow something, his expression showing sadness.






The next two shots show two men walking past the homeless man, and one of them stops to drop change. The other walks past the man, looking at him twice. His body language is slightly hesitant, showing that he might be considering dropping some change, but instead he keeps on walking. By his clothes (shirt, tie, blazer), it is safe to assume that this character is working/business class. The sunset suggests that he works long hours, and his untidy hair and body language further suggests this.

 There is then a fade to the man's apartment, where the man enters and sits down, obviously tired from work. There is no music for this scene, as it empathises the peacefulness of his home. He then suddenly gets back up, and the non-diegetic music starts again. he goes to the drawers and starts looking for something. The next shot is in another room, where the man goes through boxes on top of his shelf, trying to find something.

 He searches through one box, then goes to the wardrobe and searches above that. He eventually finds a box that he grabs and takes down. He looks inside, and the content is hidden from the viewer by the framing. He then places the box aside.



The next scene takes place the next morning. The man walks with the box from the previous day tucked under his arm. He walks over to where the homeless man is sitting, and proceeds to show him the box. The homeless gestures for change, but the businessman pulls a set of scales from the box.

The music for this scene changes from the sad, single toned piano from the start, to a much more melodic and hopeful song, which mirrors the actions taken by the businessman. The man weighs himself, weighing in at 72 kg, then gives the homeless man some change. Through this non-verbal encounter, the man has helped the homeless man by essentially providing him with small but valuable business. He can now charge for use of the scales, and as the businessman walks away, another comes to use the scales.



The narrative in this short film is fairly simple. It follows Todorov, but summarises it into 3 parts, the equilibrium, disruption, and the resolution. The disruption in this case would be the sight of the homeless man struggling, and the resolution would be helping him out by providing a long term gift. This shows that Todorov's theory does not have to just work for good vs evil, or stories with a bad side to them. It shows how it can be in everyday life.

I think this short film works because it gives a simple message that small acts of kindness can go a long way. As well, the use of visual storytelling, lack of dialogue, and appropriately toned music make for a different approach of film.