Arran : Eight

Eight is a short film about an eight year old boy who has lost his father in a football disaster. It is without a doubt social realism as it refers to a disaster still relevant to people today. The acting is armature but also naturalistic, as well as the lighting which is typical of the genre. The boy and main character, Jonathan, narrates the film and there are many scenes of him on his own narrating the film using a soliloquy technique.

Like many of the short films I've watched, Eight's narrative structure brings the story back to where it began, at the beach. As the audience we feel like we have been taken on a short viewing of this boy's life, and have delved into his thoughts more than i have seen in any of the other films. An advantage of this is that as viewers we are more involved and care more about him as a character; a disadvantage would be that we are left wanting more, as the story doesn’t fully come to a close.

The strongest themes are of loss and loneliness. This is emphasized by the dark lighting and the scenes of him by himself. The beach, the shed and when he is eating with the reflection of his mother watching him. This scene is clever and haunting. We can make out her facial expression, she is upset. This shows how others have dealt with the death. The film also shows the innocence of youth. Jonathan deals with his father’s death by imagining him as an astronaught and other imaginative jobs. He is also obsessed with football which is common for a child his age. It also creates a bond between him and his dead father and leaves us feeling sympathetic, especially seeing as his mother tries to ban football, which would destroy the only link Jonathan and his father share.