Hide and Seek from writer director Ragini Bhasin is a charming little film with a powerful and impactful ending that will instantly connect with anyone who had to take care of a younger sibling when they were a child themselves. Bhasin may be a name that you’re already quite familiar with, as she’s an award-winning film director from India, who is currently working as a director at Jubilee Media, a YouTube channel with over 5 million subscribers. Her 2019 short film Ghazaal was a film festival darling, and caught everyone’s attention. With Hide and Seek, Bhasin proves to us all again why she’s someone we need to have on our radar.
The film centres around Mandy, a young girl who has a close relationship with her mechanic father and likes to help him out in his workshop. Mandy seems in her element as she cleans the cars, and does odd jobs to help her dad out. In one shot we see a Rosie the Riveter poster on the wall behind her, clearly an icon that a girl like Mandy would look up to. The world of mechanics may be a male dominated one, but Mandy navigates her way through it with an ease and air of confidence that we should all try to incorporate into our own lives.
Mandy’s peaceful world is invaded by the arrival of Pip, a young boy whose mother seems very friendly with Mandy’s father. Mandy is burdened with the task of looking after Pip, and she seems to resent this.
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In order to keep the child entertained she ends up playing a trick on him in the form of a game of hide and seek which has disastrous consequences. The film ends in such a powerful way that it has this dramatic impact on the viewer, and we are left to reach our own conclusions.
Hide and Seek is a film which explores the complexities of growing up as well as exploring the bond between father and daughter. Mandy feels threatened by Pip’s arrival. And we see her anger and frustration slowly bubble up inside her as she slowly comes to realise that Pip and his mother play a major role in her father’s life.
Both Aaileen Gonzalez Arevato and Marco Polo Lua are wonderful in their roles, and their relationship on-screen appears natural. And we fully believe that they are actually father and daughter. Levi Shetcher is also brilliant in his role. Gonzalez Arevato has the same dramatic presence as Brooklyn Prince in The Florida Project, and she appears wiser than her actual age. Each role is expertly cast and they all manage to bring so much depth to their character.
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The film is shot by Mengtai Sun, who uses a handheld camera effectively in order to build on tension, but also immerse us into what appears to be a real garage and junk yard. There’s a documentary-like feel to the film and this again reinforces the concept of realism. The lack of music in the film and use of diegetic sound also add another layer of realism.
This is a great short film which has some real depth and again reinforces Ragini Bhasin capabilities as a director. It’ll be exciting to see what she does next!