Get Off My Land and Ralph comparison
Both 'Get off my Land' and 'Ralph' are short films with a deeper meaning behind them. Ralph is the longer of the two(going past the ten minute mark), with Get off my Land being around four minutes long. The two films have many similarities and differences, but are both undoubtably very well produced.
One aspect that they share is the naivety of the protagonist characters. In Get off my Land, the main character is a man who looks to be very uncomfortable with his environment. His story results in him arguing with an elderly man about the idea of his 'private' land. You could call the man stubborn or even just plain stupid, but ultimately his actions got him shot. The man proposes the idea of fighting the old man when he walks off. The viewer is led to believe that the old man is walking away from the conflict in a forfeit. This seems o be obvious at the time because it is clear that the protagonist character has a physical advantage over the old man. Instead, the old man returns from his car with a gun. The emotion on the stubborn man's face changes from confident to speechless and he is tragically shot. The woman(who is presumably in a relationship of some sort with the man) quickly becomes devastated and is then shot. In many ways, this relates to the naivety of Ralph in 'Ralph'. The main storyline of the film is Ralph going to France to meet a girl that he is in love with. Throughout the film, it becomes more evident to the viewers(and Ralph) that he is experiencing unrequited love. Ralph attempts to ring the girl, only to realise that she gave him a phone number with a number missing. At this point, general suspicion begins to rise. However, when the waitress that Ralph meets later on in the film shows her disapproval to Ralph's comment about the girl he is in love with seeing him as 'a brother', it becomes clear to everyone that Ralph has misjudged this scenario and maybe set his expectations too high. This is capped off with the actions of the girl he likes at the conclusion of the film. As Ralph shows optimism about seeing this girl, she introduces a guy to him who is clearly bigger and more attractive than Ralph. This is portrayed as the ultimate moment of realisation as he rushes off to chase after the waitress. It is beautifully put together. However, a difference about this is that the naivety of the character in Get off my Land is a much more unlikable type. In Ralph, we feel sorry for Ralph. On the other hand, we feel that the character in get off my Land got what was coming to him in a sense.
Although both films share qualities in themes, the main genre is slightly different. Ralph is more of a romance film, whereas Get off my Land is more of a dark comedy film. Both feature the themes of relationships, love and maybe even justice. They both show a more realistic, harsh side of love with the two main characters in Get off my Land showing a lot of conflict throughout. This can be seen with the female character not showing much attention for the male, and by being annoyed when he tries to fight the old man. Similarly, it can be seen in Ralph as a continuous realisation that he doesn't really have a chance with the girl he loves. There is not a great deal of representation of love in Get off my Land as the two characters that are presumably in a relationship do not seem to be getting along at all. However, in Ralph there is a lot of it. We see the lengths that Ralph is willing to go to to see the girl that he love so much. He travels to France, he tries for ages to ring her, he uses his last bit of money to try to contact her again. Essentially, he would do anything for this girl. Surprisingly(but rightly), he changes his mind about trying for this girl and he decides to go for the much nicer waitress instead. This is an amazing metaphor for how sometimes it is better to just let go and try something else. There isn't really much dark humour or even humour at all in Ralph, but in Get off my Land, there is some. At the climax of the film, the old man shoots the man and woman because he was under the impression that they were on his private land. He follows that by saying to himself that he thinks it actually might be a public footpath. This is a perfectly delivered line from the actor which leaves the watcher unsure whether to feel horrified or hysterical.
One of the main differences of the two films is the way the story actually develops and concludes. Both films start off rather negatively. We feel this negativity as it is portrayed through the emotions of the protagonist characters. In Ralph, he is in a strange, foreign environment and he is beginning to get frustrated with his unlucky fortune of contacting the girl he loves. In Get off my Land, the man seems to be in an unfamiliar place as he struggles to wipe the mud off of his jeans. He isn't wearing suitable clothes for the country-type environment they are in too. He audibly tuts as he walks past and it is clear he doesn't want to be there. As the two films progress, they start to differentiate. Get off my Land becomes even more negative as there is a confrontation between the male, stubborn character, and the old man. In Ralph, he has a bit of a change in mood as he starts to realise that he likes the waitress at the cafe he went to. In the end, there was a massive difference for both films. It was a very dark, unhappy ending for Get off my Land as both of the main characters ended up shockingly dead. This is made even more shocking by the fact that the woman almost definitely did not deserve it. On the contrary, Ralph has a happy ending which somewhat brings a sense of relief and satisfaction for the watchers. Ralph finally gives up on the girl he loves(who is not very nice at all) to instead focus on a girl who seems to be a nice person.
In conclusion, both films share similar themes and conventions, but the outcome of both is extremely different. This is partially down to the genre and generally the appropriate ending for the characters' storylines.
One aspect that they share is the naivety of the protagonist characters. In Get off my Land, the main character is a man who looks to be very uncomfortable with his environment. His story results in him arguing with an elderly man about the idea of his 'private' land. You could call the man stubborn or even just plain stupid, but ultimately his actions got him shot. The man proposes the idea of fighting the old man when he walks off. The viewer is led to believe that the old man is walking away from the conflict in a forfeit. This seems o be obvious at the time because it is clear that the protagonist character has a physical advantage over the old man. Instead, the old man returns from his car with a gun. The emotion on the stubborn man's face changes from confident to speechless and he is tragically shot. The woman(who is presumably in a relationship of some sort with the man) quickly becomes devastated and is then shot. In many ways, this relates to the naivety of Ralph in 'Ralph'. The main storyline of the film is Ralph going to France to meet a girl that he is in love with. Throughout the film, it becomes more evident to the viewers(and Ralph) that he is experiencing unrequited love. Ralph attempts to ring the girl, only to realise that she gave him a phone number with a number missing. At this point, general suspicion begins to rise. However, when the waitress that Ralph meets later on in the film shows her disapproval to Ralph's comment about the girl he is in love with seeing him as 'a brother', it becomes clear to everyone that Ralph has misjudged this scenario and maybe set his expectations too high. This is capped off with the actions of the girl he likes at the conclusion of the film. As Ralph shows optimism about seeing this girl, she introduces a guy to him who is clearly bigger and more attractive than Ralph. This is portrayed as the ultimate moment of realisation as he rushes off to chase after the waitress. It is beautifully put together. However, a difference about this is that the naivety of the character in Get off my Land is a much more unlikable type. In Ralph, we feel sorry for Ralph. On the other hand, we feel that the character in get off my Land got what was coming to him in a sense.
Although both films share qualities in themes, the main genre is slightly different. Ralph is more of a romance film, whereas Get off my Land is more of a dark comedy film. Both feature the themes of relationships, love and maybe even justice. They both show a more realistic, harsh side of love with the two main characters in Get off my Land showing a lot of conflict throughout. This can be seen with the female character not showing much attention for the male, and by being annoyed when he tries to fight the old man. Similarly, it can be seen in Ralph as a continuous realisation that he doesn't really have a chance with the girl he loves. There is not a great deal of representation of love in Get off my Land as the two characters that are presumably in a relationship do not seem to be getting along at all. However, in Ralph there is a lot of it. We see the lengths that Ralph is willing to go to to see the girl that he love so much. He travels to France, he tries for ages to ring her, he uses his last bit of money to try to contact her again. Essentially, he would do anything for this girl. Surprisingly(but rightly), he changes his mind about trying for this girl and he decides to go for the much nicer waitress instead. This is an amazing metaphor for how sometimes it is better to just let go and try something else. There isn't really much dark humour or even humour at all in Ralph, but in Get off my Land, there is some. At the climax of the film, the old man shoots the man and woman because he was under the impression that they were on his private land. He follows that by saying to himself that he thinks it actually might be a public footpath. This is a perfectly delivered line from the actor which leaves the watcher unsure whether to feel horrified or hysterical.
One of the main differences of the two films is the way the story actually develops and concludes. Both films start off rather negatively. We feel this negativity as it is portrayed through the emotions of the protagonist characters. In Ralph, he is in a strange, foreign environment and he is beginning to get frustrated with his unlucky fortune of contacting the girl he loves. In Get off my Land, the man seems to be in an unfamiliar place as he struggles to wipe the mud off of his jeans. He isn't wearing suitable clothes for the country-type environment they are in too. He audibly tuts as he walks past and it is clear he doesn't want to be there. As the two films progress, they start to differentiate. Get off my Land becomes even more negative as there is a confrontation between the male, stubborn character, and the old man. In Ralph, he has a bit of a change in mood as he starts to realise that he likes the waitress at the cafe he went to. In the end, there was a massive difference for both films. It was a very dark, unhappy ending for Get off my Land as both of the main characters ended up shockingly dead. This is made even more shocking by the fact that the woman almost definitely did not deserve it. On the contrary, Ralph has a happy ending which somewhat brings a sense of relief and satisfaction for the watchers. Ralph finally gives up on the girl he loves(who is not very nice at all) to instead focus on a girl who seems to be a nice person.
In conclusion, both films share similar themes and conventions, but the outcome of both is extremely different. This is partially down to the genre and generally the appropriate ending for the characters' storylines.
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