The Arrival details an internal argument a woman surrounding her unborn child while she waits for the child's father to meet her for coffee. As she tries to decide between keeping or losing it Montanari expertly uses mise-en-scene and cinematography to bring the audience in closer and closer.
The film opens with a contemplative yet short title screen of simply "The Arrival", in white text on a black background, the film then cuts to the cafe from behind the door, the protagonist opening it thereby letting the spectator in, as the camera follows her in, from there her inner monologue begins. As the camera becomes closer and closer the defining colours of the film become more pronounced as the aspect ratio shrinks in, confining the protagonist and trapping her within the confines of herself, the white of her jumper mixing with the white of the table, pronounced by the blinding white light from the window, then as she questions her decision a train hurries past darkening the frame and filling the scene with a wall of sound, after the train passes the white light returns, the intimacy of the shot highlighting the softness of the light.
Narratively the film functions within a single act, to great effect, allowing the length of the film to be utilised, not wasting time on establishing shots and making great focus on the central character as opposed to her surroundings, creating a great intimacy with the spectator.
Overall The Arrival uses its time wisely, alongside every element in order to present a single story around the main character.
The film opens with a contemplative yet short title screen of simply "The Arrival", in white text on a black background, the film then cuts to the cafe from behind the door, the protagonist opening it thereby letting the spectator in, as the camera follows her in, from there her inner monologue begins. As the camera becomes closer and closer the defining colours of the film become more pronounced as the aspect ratio shrinks in, confining the protagonist and trapping her within the confines of herself, the white of her jumper mixing with the white of the table, pronounced by the blinding white light from the window, then as she questions her decision a train hurries past darkening the frame and filling the scene with a wall of sound, after the train passes the white light returns, the intimacy of the shot highlighting the softness of the light.
Narratively the film functions within a single act, to great effect, allowing the length of the film to be utilised, not wasting time on establishing shots and making great focus on the central character as opposed to her surroundings, creating a great intimacy with the spectator.
Overall The Arrival uses its time wisely, alongside every element in order to present a single story around the main character.
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