‘Ralph’ - Analysis
Ralph is a short short film set in Marseille, France that follows the story of a teenage boy who travels to the south of france to pursue his first love ‘Claire’. Unfortunately however, his feelings for Claire are only one - sided, for Claire sees Ralph merely as a friend, or worse still, a ‘younger brother’.
Naturally, the first themes which spring to mind are that of love, relationships, and more specifically, one sided, unrequited love and the idea that ‘love hurts’, especially your first.
However, this film is not just your same old, simple ‘unrequited love’ narrative, that you’ve seen regurgitated a thousands times before; ‘Ralph’ is about so much more than just ‘what happens’ on the surface.
For example, even though the film is only twelve minutes long, there are loads of themes evident throughout the piece, which, when added together, help to create a complex, multi-faceted picture.
One of the many themes which can be noted include isolation and loneliness. In the opening scene, Ralph is standing completely alone as he gets off the train at the station, a place which is usually buzzing with people. This foreshadows the long, lonely journey, both physical and emotional, that he has ahead of him.
The dramatic emptiness of the train station is also representative of the fact that he is in an unknown place, alone without anyone he knows, all of which follow the themes of ‘Foreign places’ and ‘The Unknown’. This is also emphasised by the use of a long shot, which helps to show the vast, empty expanse of the station and his aloneness within it.
The fact that the film starts by showing a mode of transportation, in this case being the train pulling up, also supports the theme of a ‘journey’, ‘quest’ or ‘search’, which is a common narrative outline, that can be found in almost every genre.
After arriving in Marseille and realising Claire gave him the wrong phone number, Ralph feels desperate, and hopeless, both of which are significant themes in the film and are supported by his failed attempts at reaching her, which could also come under the themes of miscommunication, unreciprocation or unsuccessfulness, and his complete and utter isolation in such a new and unknown place.
The scene on the left also emphasises this, due to the number of people who are passing him by as though he isn’t even there.
As he stands alone in the centre of the frame, which forces the audience to focus all of their attention on him, the use of a crane shot is extremely effective as it allows the audience to see these people passing him by without even noticing him, which wouldn’t be as easily noticeable, if this was shot from a closer or lower angle.
Furthermore, in this scene he is wearing a bright red T - Shirt, which makes him stand out from the crowd of predominantly black and white commuters; an outsider. This is then reinforced again shortly afterwards once the dialogue begins, by the disadvantage that the language barrier brings.
In the scene in which Ralph is writing out all of Claire’s possible phone numbers, the themes of struggle, turmoil and overcoming obstacles is evident, as by watching him dial every single combination of numbers, the audience are able to relate to his pain. This is also reinforced by the close up shots of the paper and pen which force the viewer to focus on nothing but the tiresome task at hand.
After hours of unsuccessful phone calls, Ralph is nearing the end of all hope and ends up seeking refuge in a café outside the station. Here he meets Julie, a waitress with whom he strikes up an immediate relationship. It is interesting to note that other than Ralph, Julie is the only character who wears a bright coloured T - shirt, automatically linking the two characters together in the audience’s subconscious through the use of visual psychology.
The story climaxes when Claire appears unexpectedly, accompanied by her new boyfriend ‘Lorenzo’ and suddenly Ralph realises how naive and stupid he was to have believed that a relationship with a girl who sees him as a ‘younger brother’ would have ever been a good idea. POV shots/close up’s of his face are used effectively here in order to show this realisation.
This also introduces the themes of innocence, naivety and misjudgement, (of Claire and their non - existent future together) epiphanies and realisation, (that he was wrong about them both) and emotional freedom, liberation and relief (that he can be finally be free of his infatuation and desperation for her, which would have inevitably ended up leading to disappointment sooner or later.)
He is then faced with the decision of choosing between the girl whom up until five minutes ago, he thought he was ‘in love with’, and a stranger who holds the opportunity of a new beginning.
This part of the story focuses on the themes of dilemmas, life choices or ‘crossroads’. This idea of the two different options or outcomes (Claire or Julie, a life of a lie or an opportunity for a new beginning) is also supported by the physical setting of the scene which is in the middle of an intersection; a ‘crossroad’. This suggests that the setting itself is a metaphor for the choice that Ralph has to make at this point in time; which road will he take?
Interestingly, the use of props throughout the film, in particular, the huge suitcase of luggage that Ralph can be seen lugging around with him everywhere he goes, slowing and dragging him down, could also be seen as a metaphor for his emotional baggage and the weight of the burden of being so hung up on Claire. So when he realises his naivety and is freed emotionally, it’s like that weight is lifted. This is also shown by the fact that in the final scene when Ralph walks after Julie, he does it with ease, unlike at any other point in the film so far, as though the suitcase is no longer a burden to him.
This final scene also touches on the themes of ‘seizing the moment’ and ‘grasping opportunities’ when you are lucky enough to find them, which is appropriate for the relationship between Ralph and Julie. Likewise, this scene is also about Ralph having ‘faith’ in his intuition and taking a ‘chance’ on Julie, therefore letting ‘fate’ lead the way and having ‘hope’ that he made the right decision.
Another theme I noted in ‘Ralph’ was ‘loss’, not only loss in terms of Claire, but also ‘loss of innocence’; the classic ‘coming of age’, or in this case, ‘wake up call’ story for the Ralph. In short, this narrative usually portrays a young protagonist who is introduced to the complexity of the adult world. Sometimes the protagonist is eager to step into this new world and sometimes they are thrown into it by an incident that may or may not have been in their control. In this case, Ralph chooses to delve into the chaos which we all know as ‘today’s society’, however, by doing so he was therefore forced to face the reality that his fantasy of a ‘happily ever after’ with Claire would simply never become reality and that in the real world everything doesn’t always happen as planned, sometimes you just have to learn to appreciate the opportunities that arise.
Finally, it is key to note the use of lighting and saturation throughout the film. For example, at the beginning, the lighting is low key and uses a dark colour palette, however, by the end, the lightning is much brighter and uses warm colours and tones. To conclude, Alex Winkler uses mise en scene, cinematography, sound, performance and editing to build, strengthen and develop the narrative of the film both successfully and effectively from beginning to end.
No comments:
Post a Comment