How would your Tweets stand up to the big screen treatment? That’s the thought process behind Thai director Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit’s Mary is Happy, Mary is Happy, which uses 410 Tweets by user @marylony to stitch together a narrative across live action and social media streams.
Mary is Happy begins with a tweet “tomorrow we go faster” as its teenage protagonist Mary (Patcha Poonpiriya) organises the graduation yearbook at her all-girls school with best friend Suri (Chonnikan Netjui). Initially, the film feels like a surreal dream of Twitter snapshots as Mary jumps between space and time – one minute in her bedroom, then the jungle, then popping up in a park near the Eiffel Tower.
It could all get a little Amelie in tone were it not for the director’s decision to marry the Tweeting – which pops up on screen, sometimes echoing spoken words – with strong unfolding stories about Mary’s boy obsession, rules-obsessed teacher and a tragedy involving her best friend. It’s an engaging attempt to harness social media to tell a tale in an of-the-times way.
In cinemas from today