Over - Analysis

Over is a 2015 short directed by Jörn Threlfal. Based on a true story, the film depicts an incident that is slowly revealed to be the site at which a stowaway fell from the undercarriage of a plane, after trying to seek refuge in the UK from Angola. The most striking part of Over is the reverse chronological order - meaning we do not understand what the cause of the incident to be until the very end.

Cinematography

Over consists almost entirely of wide and static shots, showing the suburban cul-de-sac. The occasional close up sheds light on the events of the film, such as a close-up that makes us realise the hose is washing away blood. Most shots in this film have deep focus, and realist colour grading, to create a sense of verisimilitude. Because this short depicts something very close to real events, verisimilitude is integral.

Mise-En-Scene

MES, like the cinematography, aims to create verisimilitude. It is highly realistic; the short was shot on location and using real props. Props are also used to create a strong sense of empathy with the victim. Various unremarkable possessions are shown, like trousers and a coin - these make the victim relatable, adding to that sense of empathy. What creates the strongest sense of empathy is the picture of his family we see. Not only do we learn the man had a family, but furthermore the victim had this picture on him at the time of death.

Sound

The sound is subtle in this short, but not irrelevant. The film has no score, or any non-diegetic sound, apart from some eerie sound effects played at the end as the ending titles play, creating a sense of unease and mourning. The rest of the short has only diegetic sound effects; there isn't even dialogue. This creates a solemnness to the film, almost as if the audience is sitting in silence in respect for the dead. 

Editing

Editing in this film is very subversive as the film features a reverse-chronological narrative. This creates a huge sense of mystery to the film, as we see the aftermath of the key event before the event itself. We slowly get clues to what happened from what the incident left behind, before coming to a sudden realisation as we see it happen. This creates a huge amount of shock, in a way that playing the events out in a standard manner would not achieve. Another key part of the editing is the frequent cuts to personal items and pieces of evidence. This, as mentioned earlier, create empathy and give us more clues about what really happened.