On Falling (2024)

Plot Summary: A Portuguese immigrant struggles to maintain her dignity while working in a dehumanizing warehouse job in Scotland, where algorithmic management and productivity targets slowly chip away at her humanity.

Director: Laura Carreira
Screenplay: Laura Carreira
Producer: Jack Thomas-O'Brien
Cinematography: Karl Kürten
Editor: Helle Le Fevre
Music: Ines Adriana
Production Companies: Sixteen Films, Bro Cinema

Starring:
Joana Santos as Aurora
Inês Vaz as Vera
Piotr Sikora as Kris
Neil Leiper as Ben
Leah MacRae as Anne

 

***SPOILER ALERT***

A Punch to the Gut I Wasn't Expecting

Let me start this with a Portuguese expression: "que nó no estômago." What a punch in the stomach. I am completely blown away by On Falling. This is the most relevant movie I've seen in maybe five years. It's a British-Portuguese co-production shot in Scotland, and it's just a stark, quiet, and elegant critique of the dystopic lives so many of us are living in this gig economy. The film follows Aurora (Joana Santos), and I gotta tell you, I've been in her situation. I've known so many people living just like this. I've been in similar humiliating, dehumanizing situations—like when your 'bonus' for slave work is a single chocolate bar, or you have to do f*ing drug tests just because it's 'company policy.' That sh makes my blood boil. It's why this movie gave me real stress and so much anger, but also this genuine compassion for Aurora. That feeling was even stronger because she's Portuguese, and it just felt like I was watching a personal friend of mine in a truly back-breaking, mind-breaking situation. This only works because the direction and acting are amazing. The dialogues are 100% natural, which is rare. I'm far from an expert on Portuguese cinema; I've seen so many bad movies I've avoided it for years. So when my wife told me the director (Laura Carreira) was Portuguese, I literally said, "Ooooh noooo, boring time again." Man, how wrong was I.

Watch this canteen scene below; it's one of the few moments of real human warmth before the system crushes it.

The Real Villain Isn't a Person

This is the best drama I've seen this year, and I'm keeping Laura Carreira on my radar from now on. She is so young! If she keeps this up, (se Deus quiser), she could do so much for our national cinema. Joana Santos also deserves massive credit. I was truly heartbroken in that job interview scene; she perfectly shows how this system alienates us from ourselves. In a normal, conventional drama, all this suffering would be because of some clear villain, like a cruel b****** of a manager. But On Falling makes a smarter, more radical choice. The managers are just "hapless boy-men," and other authority figures are just "doing their job." As Carreira said, the co-workers aren't the antagonists. The true antagonist is the system itself: the algorithm-driven economy, the compassionless labor politics, the whole economic force that runs our lives. The cruelty isn't personal, it's structural. This elevates the film from a simple workplace drama to a profound systemic critique. Carreira is clearly inspired by masters like Ken Loach and the Dardenne Brothers, and the film was even produced by Loach's own company.

Below is that job interview scene I mentioned. It's absolutely heartbreaking.

I Love This Movie (And I Wish I Didn't)

To make sure this all felt real, Carreira actually did extensive research, interviewing current and former warehouse pickers. Those interviews gave the film its texture. At its core, this movie is a chilling exposé of what our unfettered consumerism is doing. The warehouse, ironically called a "fulfilment centre," is a place of profound dehumanization, a place that strips the workers of their humanity and sanity. The ending... damn. It was so simple, but the song choice was so powerful that I just broke down and cried. I completely love this movie, and I think I wish I didn't. We have to do something about this slavery. It is inhumane that in a world with so much abundance, so much food and useless junk wasted every day, people are trapped like packages on a conveyor belt as illustrated in one of the movie scenes, while a few others have all the money and freedom. Of course I recommend this movie. 100%.

Check out this scene where workers are forced to hear how great the company is (and get free cupcakes) while being asked to donate to charity. The nerve.

Freddy's Final Rating

95

A devastating and essential critique of our modern work culture

🎵 The Powerful Ending Song

The devastating final song that perfectly captures the film's message about economic inequality and the struggle to survive in a system that treats humans as disposable.

Lankum - "What Will We Do When We Have No Money?"

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