linda linda linda
Do you remember life in high school when it was on the cusp of adulthood? Whether it was good or bad, I remember feeling the air around was filled with possibilities. Even if the possibilities seemed unattainable or insurmountable.
Watching Linda Linda Linda for the first time recently recaptured that feeling for me. It starts with a statement to the camera from a high school student making a video about an end of year school festival. They say "Where are we really going to be? Are things really going to be okay like this? As long as we stay ourselves, a little bit of us remains...".
The film was just pure joy to watch. I forgot about all my troubles as I watched a slice of life of four high school students, forming a band, and playing some songs for the school festival. That's all there is to it, because when we were young, I feel like that's all the blueprints you really needed for a week. And yet, even the most straightforward events in a week could feel life changing. I think it's just how moldable and impressionable we are at that age.
I am thankful to have experienced that positive aspect of growing up. As we all probably wish, I wish I had made more of my adolescence. Not by doing more but realising that in a way, we are our true selves at that age because everything is so flexible and mouldable. We can become anyone we really want to. A chance to relive it again via Linda Linda Linda, even for a fleeting moment, was very welcome.
Time passes. Gentler than anything. Warmer than anything
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIIkWjdiF0U
Edit: Thanks to Asian Cinema Collective for organising this in Sydney <3