Zaman uses magical realism throughout A Happy Day to combine the direct story of Hamid’s experience with dreamlike moments of imagination. There is some question about whether Aida even exists. Freedom is symbolized by a reindeer who wanders through key scenes. Hamid points out that, like himself, the reindeer has lost his herd. This surrealism and the grim situation are offset by a lighthearted nod to the absurd; dark humor runs under everything. The pace is as glacial as the landscape around the camp. There’s a desperate deliberateness to the passage of time surrounded by scenic mountains, with snow and ice everywhere.
Watching the film is enough to induce a chill. The color palette is blue, white, and grey in the seemingly eternal winter. The cast includes professional actors as well as non-actors, including Salah Qadi. The performances are moving and authentic across the board, which is remarkable given the experience level of some of the cast.
“Watching the film is enough to induce a chill.”
The story of A Happy Day is based on the extensive research Zaman did on Norway’s controversial refugee policy, including interviews. He also draws on his time as a refugee from Iraqi Kurdistan to find a relatable way of portraying the lives and hopes of young asylum seekers. In an interview with Nordisk Film & TV Fond, he says, “Although it’s a harsh story as the three boys face deportation, they are like any other kid in the world, living every day to the fullest, with the recklessness that comes with youth. The irony is that the boys are almost more afraid to turn 18 than to be thrown out of Norway. I wanted to give warmth to this bleak situation.” He tells the story of refugees in the detention center without digging into politics or preaching about social justice. Instead, he shares the intimate daily experiences of these people and their developing emotional lives with compassion and light humor, even in the darkest moments.
In our teens, we all seem to be waiting for adult life to begin. In the detention center, Hamid and his friends are literally waiting and dreading, as the days and years stretch out, for a life ahead that may be filled with horror and struggle. A Happy Day captures all these emotions vividly.
"…based on the extensive research Zaman did on Norway's controversial refugee policy..."
