"Get off my Land" and "Ralph"

"Get off my Land" and "Ralph"

“Get off my land” and “Ralph” are both British short films that deal with the theme of isolation in a new and unknown territory. With Get off my Land this concept is more implicit than with Ralph, as they do not blatantly say this. Instead it is shown by the man’s body language and clothes as it is clear that he does not fit in around that general area. However, in Ralph’s case the director makes it clear that he is in an unfamiliar environment through the use of the dialogue. Both films start and finish with minimal dialogue but have long conversations in the middle. The protagonist is unable to understand the language and because of this, and the fact that the director does not put in any subtitles, the audience feels as confused and lost as he is. It is also shown that he is in a new environment and out of his comfort zone by what he orders at the pub/restaurant: chips, which is traditionally a British food.  

In both short films, the clothes that the actors wear show a lot about their characters. The man and woman in Get off my land where clothes that you would typically see in the city. However, the man’s choice of flat trainers and jeans compared to the woman’s boots shows that she was clearly more ready and aware for the surrounding area whilst he was either unaware or reluctant or unprepared for the where they were going. When the farmer/land owner is introduced, his choice of clothing is stereotypical of the farmer attire – with his woolly jumper and flat cap. Although it is not said straight away, the clothes that he wears immediately alerts the audience that he is a local. This is more subtle in Ralph as although it seems like they are all wearing everyday clothing, Ralph’s choice of the polo shirt collar up and the chain seem more accustomed to the fact that he is British. It can also reveal his age as that would typically be the style of a teenager or a young adult.

The endings of both of the short films are quite different. Ralph has more of a clichéd ending with him falling for the random nice girl that he just met instead of the girl that he intended to love. This concept is used very often and despite it being a huge turning point in Ralph’s it does not feel like a huge reveal or twist in the film’s narrative. This slightly brings the film into the romance territory. The way Get off my land ends flips what the initial genre of the film was. It started off as a drama but when the farmer murders the two people in cold blood the film gets very dark very quickly. The twist of that film is when the farmer realises that he may have been in the wrong from the start, leaving the audience to realise that the two protagonist’s deaths were for nothing. This changes the film’s genre as it turns from slow drama to black comedy. The farmer is not even played to feel sympathetic or feel bad for what he has done. Instead, the credits start rolling leaving the audience with a lasting impression of the farmer.

Whilst both films deal with the theme of isolation, I feel that “Ralph” did a better job of showing this with his “fish out of water story” than “Get off my land” did because I think that the director made the audience go along on Ralph’s journey and made us feel as lost as he was.

By Madichi Brown