'Ralph' is a short film directed by Alex Winckler, the short film features a 16 year old English boy who travels to Marseille in France to declare his love to a girl we know to be named Claire. The film is laid out in a linear structure, resulting in Ralph's actions being filmed chronologically throughout as we see what he experiences from when he arrives to Marseille to when he eventually finds Claire towards the end of the film.
The Director purposely uses a long shot from the outset when Ralph arrives in France at the train station to show the loneliness he is feeling and maybe even foreshadow the loneliness he will feel in the future due to being lost in a foreign country and having no one to help him on his journey to find Claire. Cinematography is further used at the train station to emphasise his lonliness in the form of a crane shot, the crane shot shows Ralph centre frame as he stands in the middle of the train station with only his suit case, this gives the audience the impression Ralph is completely lost in an unknown environment as many people walk around him like he's not even there. Mise en scene is used also to convey thoughts of Ralph being an outside as he wears a bright red t-shirt making him stand out from the crowd, making him look out of place in his surroundings. A long panoramic shot is used to show him crossing the bridge again showing his loneliness but also the graffiti in the background could possibly suggest he is entering a dangerous area, I think this shows the determination of his character as he travels around an unknown place (possibly dangerous) carrying his heavy suitcase, also the lengths he will go to in order to find Claire. I think the suitcase prop could possibly signify the emotional baggage he is carrying as we see him struggling to pull it around as he searches for Claire, as soon as he realises Claire has found love in 'Lorenzo' it is like closure happens on his love for her, this is also shown as he walks comfortably down the road after the waiter, almost like his emotional baggage has been lifted by this. Both the use of realistic every day background noise and the french dialogue also added to creating the relatable experience of being lost in a unknown/foreign place. I personally liked this short film as I thought it created a realistic relatable experience very quickly as we saw Ralph struggle to pursue his love for Claire and eventually find new love for the waiter, leaving us wondering if his journey ended in love or just disappointment.
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