Film Review – Ralph (2008)

The genre of this short film would be a romance as the story is of sixteen year old Ralph (played by Ralph Laurila) travelling to France to tell his friend he loves her. The film is shot well featuring different shot sizes to help tell the story and connect the audience with the characters.  This film follows a story that has been told lots of times before, therefore I think this film is targeted at people that have an interest in media and film making as these people can make the most out of it and appreciate the director’s work more.

Sixteen year old Ralph has travelled to France to find his former friend and girl he loves, Clare. It is clear he is alone and desperate to find her through his desperation to find her right phone number. After failing to find the correct number he leaves the station to try again in a nearby town. With a lack of phone card he asks a local restaurant for one before proceeding to get something to eat there and sparking conversation with the waitress whereby the theme of friendship is introduced and the waitress later invites him out. Nearing the end of the film we see the theme of betrayal from Clare and throughout there is the constant theme of anger as Ralph’s anger grows through frustration at his peers and at himself.

The film opens with an establishing shot to set the scene and show the audience the time period in which it is set. From Ralph’s clothing we can tell this is a modern drama and we can tell his age. The next scene cuts to a close up of the public telephone and the sound of numbers being dialled, not only does this add tension but we can sense the urgency in the character before we see them close up. After this the audience only see the back of the boys head and his emotion is only deciphered through his disappointed tone of voice. To follow are several more close ups, showing confusion on the boys behalf and also a birds eye view which suggests that he is lost.  Throughout the film the camera films Ralph’s search as if being watched, this make the audience feel involved. This again happens through point of view shots throughout including from the waitress when she senses Ralph’s anger in the telephone box.

Throughout the film there is constant bright light which contrasts to Ralph’s defeatist attitude. There is no music played during apart from some French music being played in the background on two occasions. This is because the narrative is mainly in dialogue between main protagonist Ralph and someone else. I like the directing style especially at the beginning the way Winckler shows time has passed by having Ralph sitting on the floor looking frustrated, meanwhile playing the automated telephone voice over and over in the background.

I would give this film a 5/10 because I like its varied camera shots and how these contribute to the story, however I can’t see the films purpose and I think it would greatly benefit from non diegetic sound to help convey the many emotions that are explored throughout.