From Omeleto.
A ghost meets a young girl.
GOODBYE, HELLO is used with permission from Omkar Phatak. Learn more at https://omkarphatak.in.
A ghost has made its home on a quiet rooftop terrace for several years. But now the time has come for it to move on to the next destination in its journey, and it has one final night left in its familiar surroundings before it must go.
When a girl comes to the terrace, the ghost enlists her to help fulfill some experiences and desires before leaving for good. But the girl is searching for something as well, driving to the rooftop for her own reasons.
Directed by Omkar Phatak, this quirky yet mesmerizing short dramedy is a unique take on a ghost story, evoking the way a late night can feel endless, mystical and surreal in its solitude. It doesn’t take itself too seriously in how it portrays its supernatural elements, yet as the story unravels, it mines a palpable melancholy, as the ghost and the girl find a connection in dealing with their regrets, sorrows and heartaches.
The cool, dusky moonlit cinematography, along with a gently whimsical musical score and an almost deadpan sense of composition, conjure a nearly hermetic world presided over by the ghost as it looks up from its rooftop to the other buildings. The images are moody and even lyrical, evoking a sense of solitude and loneliness. The storytelling takes its time building up this spectral atmosphere, establishing how it’s both eerie and fanciful. But when the ghost and human finally meet, and the ghost endows the girl with a mission, the momentum builds, especially as it reveals a sly goofiness and humor.
These touches of whimsicality — the funny subtitles, the ghost’s requests — are charming and offbeat, and actors Aditya Ravi and Zahara Sethjiwal, as the ghost and the girl, respectively, find the balance between grounded emotion and the film’s idiosyncrasies. Ultimately, the narrative reveals a somberness as the pair confronts questions of mortality, the afterlife, and loneliness, as the ghost and girl finally reveal their individual stories to one another.
What they both have in common is a profound sense of loss — not just for what was, but for what was missed out on. That grief of not having more experiences or time together with their loved ones suffuses the end of GOODBYE, HELLO with a wistfulness that aches and yearns — it feels like nostalgia, but for something that can only be imagined, never experienced. But there’s also, finally, a peace and acceptance that life — or whatever part of the journey we’re on — will always pull us onward, no matter how much we look back.
