Sometimes life throws you into chaos, and the only way out is through the madness.
I saw this movie on my Instagram reels, and I really love the power moves. Then I said to myself why not try this out. So that's how I ended up watching HiFive.
This is how I felt when watching HiFive. You remember those movies that surprise you? The ones you think will be just another comedy, then, somewhere down the line, they insert something raw, something all-too-human? HiFive did that to me. I hit the play button anticipating a whole superpower moves but I left with good laugh at the exaggerated jokes.
The film begins with a bang, literally. A bunch of strangers happen to end up together because of a freak accident and that is when their lives get intertwined in the most unexpected manner. I liked one of the early scenes where the characters are still in shock and they are trying to digest the craziness happening around them. It is not only the faces of these characters that the camera is focused on but their silences, their attempts to reassert themselves, their clumsiness. It reminded me of the feeling of life when a sudden disaster strikes, that moment that you are laughing the next moment you are looking at the mess and saying how did everything go wrong.
The most noticeable thing was the combination of comedy and tragedy. There is one scene where one of the characters tells some absurd joke with everyone around him sinking in fear, and I laughed, but with a lump in my throat. Isn't that what mankind does when life goes out of control? We mask our fear with jokes, we tell people that everything is alright when in reality we are shattering to pieces. HiFive is so truthful about that duality that it does not seem like a mere comedy, but rather a reflection held to the manner in which humans endure through incongruity.
Well, now to tell the truth. It was not merely the hype that HiFive was receiving online that really made me want to watch it. This is because of the cast. It is somehow electric to watch a troupe of actors that can go between laughs and heartbreaks in the same beat. And they never failed. It was all very layered, messy, and painfully human characters. You did not only laugh at them, you found yourself in them. The person who acts like he/she has it all figured out, the person who uses jokes as a mask to hide the pain, the person who cannot stop running even when there is no place left to go.
Then there was that scene- the one that is likely going to take a long time to forget. Minor spoilers, but there is this moment of chaos where all the stuff that the characters have been running away gets dumped on them and they just accept their fate. It is insane, hysterical, heartbreaking and strangely freeing all at the same time. I recall sitting there, and thinking that we do not always need to know everything. This is when we have to simply give up to the insanity of life and be confident that we shall stumble through.
My reflection? It was as though I was watching a metaphorical reflection of my own struggles when I watched HiFive. Life does not come with a neat script and at times I, like the characters in the movie, find myself involved in situations that are too big, too messy, too absurd to deal with. However, here is the thing: HiFive made me remember that despite all the mess, there is connection. There’s laughter. There’s resilience.
I believe that is why the film spoke to me so much, not because it was a funny film, not because it was a wild film but because it showed me that I am human and I may feel and act in contradictions. We laugh and cry simultaneously. We’re terrified and hopeful in the same breath. And maybe, just maybe, that’s where the beauty lies.
Would I recommend it? Absolutely.
And here’s my challenge to you: watch it, and then tell me — which character are you? The joker? The fighter? The one who can’t let go? I bet you’ll see a piece of yourself in at least one of them.