'The Most Beautiful Man In The World'

The Most Beautiful Man in The World is a short film directed by Alicia Duffy. It was funded by the UK Film Council’s New Cinema Fund. The film focuses on a young girl, on her own that leaves her house to wonder into a field. She then meets a man who hesitates when he sees who we assume to be the girl’s mother. However the film does not tell the audience what relation the girl has to the man, if any. This allows the audience to make their own assumptions. Two of the main assumptions are that 1) the man was her father, who feels he is not allowed to go be in contact with the daughter in her home, so he must only interact with her on a field. And 2) the man is a complete stranger, possible paedophile. There is valid evidence to support both ideas as there is little communication between the two. If the man was her father, then this could be a reason why the daughter is living in poverty and with neglect from the ‘mother’. The way that the mother looks at the man from a distance suggests that they previously have had some relationship history. The disappointment and negative look on the man’s face as the girl leaves would support this. If the man was not the girl’s father, and indeed a stranger, then this would be why the girl ran back to her ‘mother’ when she was watching. This would also explain why he was disappointed when she left. Although the girl has been neglected by the woman, she doesn’t react drastically when she sees her with him, this could support both assumptions, because if he was her father, she would know he wouldn’t hurt her, but if he was a stranger she would be concerned about her safety, however the woman didn’t seem to worry enough for the man to be a stranger. When looking at themes and issues in this short film, the first issue I think of is child neglect and poverty. The plain and simple reason for this is the way the girl is dressed and the fact that no one else takes notice of her. I also think of loneliness, as she is riding her bike outside her house, there is a wide shot with her on her bike being in the middle. There is only three houses in sight and behind her is just clouds. This suggests that there is no one near where she lives, and she is without proper interaction from any family. This is only an assumption as the film does not officially tell us to what extent this is true.This short film presents at least these two ideologies without telling the audience any detail about the characters, which makes it very interactive with the audience. I think this film has attempted to show how people live differently across the world, the mother does not bother fussing about the girl being with a stranger, and this supports child neglect and proper care.This short film was nominated for a BAFTA in the short film category, and won a Certificate of Merit award at Chicago International Film Festival for Best Narrative.