Review of a Short Film

This a short entitled "Train Now Leaving"

Like a short story, the narrative of "Train Now Leaving" is simple; it's simply a woman on a train, talking to her loved one. What makes it work is it's themes of: memory, loss and longing; and how it uses simple dialogue and visuals to get these themes across.

By having no back story into the characters and what has lead to their current situation, it allows the emotions evoked within the audience to be purely based on the young woman's dialogue. The idea of memory and reflecting on pivotal moments in her life with her now absent husband, accompanied with her longing for him to return and informing him on what has happened since he's been gone is heartbreaking, and allows the audience to sympathise with her - thus making it an effecting short film.
Furthermore, the background music is romantic with a melancholy twist, complimenting the idea of love and loss.

Being in shot in black and white gives the film a bleak look, signifying the woman's loss and how the colour has drained from her life now her partner isn't in her life, enhancing the sadness of the film. In terms of editing, the cutting from the movement of the train to footage of their daughter, Sophia, and the canted shots of the tree leaves with sunlight streaming through remind us of childhood and the innocence and naiveté that comes with it. This, juxtaposed with the tragedy and suffering of the voice over highlights another theme of the loss of innocence and how the purity of life most of us experience as a child dissolves as we grow up.