The Arrival

 

The Arrival

    The Arrival is a short film directed and written by Daniel Montanarini that depicts a woman contemplating whether or not to keep her baby whilst waiting for her lover in a cafe. Mise-en-scene is used very well in this short film to represent the woman's thoughts.

    Shortly after sitting down at her table, an elderly woman appears in the background and the woman at the table looks over. As this happens we can hear her thoughts change to being about how much time she has left to have children. The elderly woman, part of the mise-en-scéne, therefore provokes these thoughts.

    After this, a couple walks in to the shop holding hands, which causes the woman at the table to begin to think about her partner, whether she loves him and she loves her or not and whether she will be alone or not. Again, the mise-en-scéne provokes the woman's thoughts.

    Finally, a mother walks in with a crying baby in a buggy. This causes the woman at the table to stop and accidentally spill her coffee. As a spectator we can assume she is thinking about her own baby and what it will be like so yet again the mise-en-scéne provokes her thoughts.

    The colours used within this short film are a range of cool blues and greys with all the colours being based off of this image.

These colours create quite a melancholy aesthetic as blue is often used to represent sadness. The colours are also very cold which may reflect the temperature outside. We can also see in terms of costume, everyone is wearing coats and jumpers so the cool colours may further emphasise this coldness.

    The cinematography in this short film is very simple with the entirety of it being one continuous shot. However, the interesting aspect of the cinematography is how it slowly dollies in towards the woman as throughout. It moves from a long shot of the woman, to a mid shot, to a close-up and then back to mid shot. The aspect ration of the film also changes throughout the film. It becomes more and more constricted as the film progresses. Both of these build tension as the woman's thoughts get closer and closer to her decision.

The lighting also changes towards the end of the film. For the majority of the film the lighting is cold which, like the colour, creates a sense of sadness. Later in the film, once the woman decides to keep the baby, the light becomes warmer, which creates a more joyous and happy feeling as she looks forward to the future. This contrast in lighting can be seen in the shots below.