Two weeks before the release of the award-winning film Joyland’s trailer is out on YouTube. Within two minutes, the trailer dives a little deep into the complexities of the characters and storyline in an attempt to gear up the audience for a roller coaster ride of emotions.

The trailer begins with changing visuals of a city, captured from within a moving vehicle, with Alina Khan’s voice in the background saying “aik joke suna” (tell a joke). Following that Ali Junejo’s character narrates the infamous story of a mosquito and chicken falling in love and then eventually dying. This is narrated parallel to the visuals of a child followed by a dead body which highlights the complexities that the story is woven with and also how it is going to be an amalgamation of bitterness and happiness; the two very familiar characteristics of life itself.

The trailer then introduces us to the Rana family who are oblivious to their son’s (Ali Junejo) new life in the theater where he meets ‘Biba’ (Alina Khan) and joins a dancing troupe. It is a well-edited trailer that takes us from one scene to another, in which the audience is treated with changing visuals and very few dialogues. We see a few glimpses of Alina Khan; in one scene we see her dancing in the theater, followed by a scene where she is training people to dance, and the most heart-wrenching of all is a scene in the hospital, where she is covered in blood.

We also see glimpses of Rasti Farooq and Sarwat Gilani sharing some endearing and light-hearted moments. In addition, we see Rasti Farooq and Ali Junejo together, who are playing the role of a married couple in the film, sharing some palpable chemistry. They depict the story of a couple who are bounded by secrets and obligations and separated by desires and urge to live life on their own terms.

Lastly, we see shots of Rana family. They are introduced in a millisecond with a single-eye movement.