The Arrival (2016, Daniel Montanarini)
The Arrival (2016, Daniel Montanarini) was by far one of the most effective short films for me. I loved from the beginning the play on the word 'arrival', meaning pregnancy rather than something extra terrestrial or of the sci-fi genre. I think the reality of this short film was what made it so personally enjoyable - it was a familiar setting for viewers, a simple cafe with customers coming and going, focusing our attention on the woman as she waits for her partner to tell him the (undecided) 'good' news.
For me, The Arrival was particularly striking as being real-life, with the set up being an inner monologue focusing entirely on the woman; she debates her relationship with the father of her baby, she debates even telling him, she considers the option of terminating her pregnancy, all things which place massive pressure on her as a women. Around her, there is the ever-present sound of the rain, gradually increasing and the light getting darker as the camera slowly closes in as she gets deeper and deeper in her one-track thought. The camerawork is what makes this so intriguing; being a one-take film it could easily get boring, you can end up sitting and longing for something different to happen, you want the camera to move so you can establish the setting, but The Arrival cleverly overcame this by making the one-take shot a continual slow zoom-in, then zoom-out. I think this gave a very intimate effect to the overall film, it is obvious who you are aligned with as your are forced to see her up-close.
The way the coffee was used as a prop I also found particularly effective. I liked how she completely forgot she was pouring the milk, then spills it, and changes her order to decaf after being hard on herself for initially choosing to drink caffeine. This further emphasis how confused she was about her pregnancy, which made her apparent change of heart when the father arrives all the more intriguing.
I think a short film is always impressive when you find yourself wanting to find out what happens after, and The Arrival did this for me. I want to find out if she kept her baby, I want to know what the fathers reaction was, I want to know if they decide to stay together.
For me, The Arrival was particularly striking as being real-life, with the set up being an inner monologue focusing entirely on the woman; she debates her relationship with the father of her baby, she debates even telling him, she considers the option of terminating her pregnancy, all things which place massive pressure on her as a women. Around her, there is the ever-present sound of the rain, gradually increasing and the light getting darker as the camera slowly closes in as she gets deeper and deeper in her one-track thought. The camerawork is what makes this so intriguing; being a one-take film it could easily get boring, you can end up sitting and longing for something different to happen, you want the camera to move so you can establish the setting, but The Arrival cleverly overcame this by making the one-take shot a continual slow zoom-in, then zoom-out. I think this gave a very intimate effect to the overall film, it is obvious who you are aligned with as your are forced to see her up-close.
The way the coffee was used as a prop I also found particularly effective. I liked how she completely forgot she was pouring the milk, then spills it, and changes her order to decaf after being hard on herself for initially choosing to drink caffeine. This further emphasis how confused she was about her pregnancy, which made her apparent change of heart when the father arrives all the more intriguing.
I think a short film is always impressive when you find yourself wanting to find out what happens after, and The Arrival did this for me. I want to find out if she kept her baby, I want to know what the fathers reaction was, I want to know if they decide to stay together.
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