THE ARRIVAL - 2015 - DANIEL MONTANARINI

 THE ARRIVAL (2016), directed by Daniel Montanarini

The arrival, directed by Daniel Montanarini in 2016 is a one shot, 5-minute film in which a woman contemplates, through an internal monologue, whether or not she should keep her baby, whilst she’s waits for her baby-daddy to arrive.

“Shorts are very good practice for exploring different ways of expression and to be economical with our storytelling. It has been a rewarding experience to release the film straight online so we want to keep the momentum going.” - Daniel Montanarini.

Expectation:

I immediately thought that this film would include a significant moment of change. I thought the protagonist would be anticipating the arrival of someone meeting her for the first time, but instead she is anticipating the arrival of both her baby-daddy and in fact, her baby.

Screen grabs and micro-element/narrative structure analysis:

At this point of the film, the lighting is low-key and dark, creating a moody atmosphere that reflects Anna’s thoughts, feelings and her state of inner turmoil. The first shot is taken from behind a door with blurred glass, which is reflective of Anna’s unclear state of mind at this point, the door is opened and as the camera begins to dolly towards her, she is kept framed centrally, which puts all of our attention on her.

She is lit by a white side spotlight, drawing our attention to her. The mise-en-scene (booths, coffee, cups…) and side characters (the waiter) help in establishing setting and location, and we immediately wonder why she is here.

There is a lack of editing during the film, and instead the camera dollies towards her and away from her. We start in long shot and dolly through a mid shot all the way to a close up, which I find very effective. As we dolly closer to Anna, we get the impression that we are going into her head, creating tension as she reveals her thoughts.

Throughout her internal monologue, the dialogue is important as due to the lack of cinematography, it is what we are made to focus on. The voice over reveals her internal debate. Equally, there is very little attention bought to diegetic sound, except for when she orders her coffee, in order to make her state of mind more important to the story.

At this point, in close up, the lighting changes and it becomes warmer and more orange, showing her warmer, more welcoming attitude towards the baby. It’s also important to note that sound becomes very important at this point in the film, there is a non-diegetic sound of a train passing by, which drowns out any noise in the cafe, symbolising Anna’s journey, which we are on alongside her. This sound emphasises the turning point in the story. The close up makes the moment more intimate as we can truly observe her body language and facial expression. 

At this point, the white light returns, but this time it is brighter, showing that her decision has becomes clear. We can observe her facial expression in more detail, which emphasises her changing emotions through a slight smile. The dialogue is important as her tone of voice changes - she sound less stressed. I would say that the performance of Emily Barber (Anna) is key throughout the film as we are forced to watch her body language, whilst she narrates her thoughts off-screen.

By the end of the film, the colour grading has become more saturated, reflecting her emotional state. There is an open ending as we do not find out if she decides to keep the baby or not (although she does get a decaf coffee). The film ends as her baby daddy arrives, and we do not see his face or view there conversation, allowing the audience to interpret their decision. 

My response:

I found this film particularly effective due to the use of one take. The only movement of the camera is a slow dolly forward as her inner monologue is revealed and a dolly backwards at the end. I really like the use of expressionistic lighting upon the moment of change. The lighting goes dark around her and only her face is spotlighted. The sound effects of a train going by during this moment is metaphorical for the journey that she is on, which I find particularly engaging. In film, voiceovers tend to sound artificial and unnatural, but I think that Montanarini masters the use of voiceover, and the dialogue in the film is important in revealing things about her charcater and her emotional state due to the lack of camera movement. Similarly, her performance, although minimal and nuanced, is very important in conveying her feelings.