A Short Film Review

The short film that I have decided to review is New Boy directed by Steph Green. This follows a new boy from Africa as he tries to settle in to an Irish school. After he gets picked on by bullies because of his ethnicity, they finally make friends through the process of getting in trouble together.

The film's narrative structure occasionally switches from the boy's current class to his past moments from Africa using the technique of flashbacks.This is shown as a happier time for him, as he is shown smiling more and a non-diagetic soundtrack is included which makes it more joyful. There are also a few brighter colours such as the teacher's clothing, the walls and the light coming in from outside which is different to the plain colours in his modern school. There is not really any exposition shown in this film as it is never stated how he moved to Ireland. However the film hints that he could've been a refugee as his backdrop depicts a dangerous society; armed men are shown who shoot his dad.

     

I like this film because of it's narrative structure, as it occasionally switches from the boy's past life in Africa to his new class in Ireland. It is an interesting story and many people can relate to what's happening. It's also good the way that the story of the film is built up to the ending. In a way, the ending was quite unpredictable as I didn't expect the boys to make up at the end.

What is a short film?

The term short film used to apply to he majority of films in 1910's America where almost all of them were shorter than a conventional feature film. These films were black & white and were completely silent apart from non-diagetic music. They were surreal in nature and contained a lot of slapstick comedy which was very popular with audiences worldwide.

Currently in Britain it is a term used to describe any film that is between 1 and 15 minutes in length. This is a contrast to the definition in the US, where it is applied to any film in between 20 and 40 minutes in length. Because there isn't a lot of time to explain the story or the characters, these films tend to be very surreal with no background explanation of anything that happens. Short films are usually created on a very low budget compared to main feature length films. They are often the first things that famous directors produce as a way of showcasing their creative abilities. Two examples of short films are below.

On Time


Chop Cup