Two Cars, One Night

Two Cars, One Night

This short film, Two Cars, One Night, was the short film that I did not get a chance to present at the seminar due to unfortunate circumstances. Therefore I will be writing a short response to it instead.

Two Cars, One Night is a famous New Zealand short film directed by Maori-born Taika Waititi. He belongs to the iwi Te-Whanau-a-Apanui, which is based in the East Coast of New Zealand. The film is some what of a recollection of his past experiences growing up there, with the setting being based in a local pub, Te Kaha, around that area.

The film depicts an unlikely meeting of children, 2 boys and a girl, in their respective cars outside the pub. The intended audience is probably a New Zealand audience because there is a lot of vernacular language spoken in the film which may be hard to understand for an international audience.

Words and phrases such as "choice as" = good. "Egg" = idiot. "Wasted" = drunk. "Flash" = fancy. "Nick" = steal. Also, the children's thick east coast accent may prove to be difficult to understand as well.

What caught my attention in the short film was the themes. It focuses on the characteristics of children such as innocence, naivety, vulnerability, rivalry and friendship. Also, the underlying message of being able to find beauty in the most ordinary settings.

•Taika Waititi mentions that “There are a few moments in childhood that have a lasting impact. Not because they change the course of your life, or because they arrive with any great fanfare, in fact quite the opposite. Those are moments where an unexpected joy is found in the everyday, a moment of beauty in the ordinary.” (Waititi, n.d.) 

He artistically implemented this idea by setting the film in black and white rather than in colour.

 

The lighting techniques used in the film contrasted what was bad and what was good. The dark parts of the film were the pub, smoking, drinking etc. In one scene it showed the two cars outside the pub, the backgrounds and surroundings were dark. The only light source was from the two cars and the light highlighted the children inside the car. This was to show the children's innocence and purity, and how they were oblivious to the dangers of the adult world. Also to show that, good things can happen in bad places, and that there is always light in the most unexpected places.

The relationship between the two main characters (the children), Romeo and Polly emphasizes this idea. They start their relationship by yelling insults at each other creating rivalry, while remaining in their respective cars. It highlights the child's innocence towards the opposite sex - love does not exist in a child's world because they do not understand it. The distance between the two cars, at first, acts as a barrier. However, the rivalry slowly diminishes when Romeo approaches Polly, crossing the line that was a barrier. The next scene depicts Romeo in Polly's car with her, conversing happily with each other. At this point the barrier is completely broken and a new friendship forms. You could say, it is a child's first experience at first love. 

Other than the use of black and white (which creates a sense of horror), the short film was actually sweet. It would let viewers begin a nostalgic journey back to their childhood, where these unlikely interactions were taken for granted. Taika wanted viewers to know that these moments were the ones worth treasuring, even though they would not change the course of your life completely. It is these moments that gives us hope, that even if we are in a cruel, cold world, there will always be a small speck of warm light to guide us. We lose this sense as we reach adulthood, this is why using children to show these ideas was perfect. Their innocence makes them see the good even in the worst situations. 

Reference

Waititi, T. (n.d.). Two Cars One Night Press Kit. Retrieved from http://www.nzfilm.co.nz/sites/nzfc/files/Two%20Cars%20One%20Night%20Press%20Kit.pdf