On Falling is a 2024 British-Portuguese social drama film written and directed by Laura Carreira (in her directorial debut feature) starring Joana Santos.
Plot
Set in Scotland, the plot follows the plight of Portuguese immigrant and warehouse worker Aurora, trapped in a life governed by wage slavery and social isolation in Glasgow, depicting her emotional breakdown.[1][2][3]
Production
The film is a British-Portuguese co-production by Sixteen Films and Bro Cinema, and it had support from BFI, BBC Film, Screen Scotland and ICA [pt].[2][4]
Conic acquired UK and Ireland distribution rights, aiming for an early 2025 theatrical release.[7] It also landed a distributor in the Benelux (Vedette), former Yugoslavia (MCF), Greece (Cinobo), Middle East (Teleview), Spain (Vértigo), and Switzerland (Frenetic).[7]
Matthew Joseph Jenner of International Cinephile Society rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, writing that it "conveys a very clear message and delivers it with genuine affection and attention to detail, which is important for a story that carries such resonance".[9]
Fionnuala Halligan of ScreenDaily pointed out how the film grows to become "an intense, enveloping experience".[10]
Sophie Monks Kaufman of IndieWire gave the film an 'A-' rating, deeming it to be "far better than anything living-political-legend Loach made during the final innings of his career".[3]
David Katz of Cineuropa declared the film a "laudably a protest film clamouring for a better way of life, but it still evokes a story's first act mistaken for a whole feature".[2]
