On Falling

2025 1h 41m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 48

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Aurora, a Portuguese migrant, works as an order picker in a warehouse in Edinburgh, Scotland. Caught between the walls of a huge distribution centre and the solitude of her own room, Aurora tries to seize every opportunity to resist the alienation and isolation that threaten her identity.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Joana Santos
Aurora
Inês Vaz
Vera
Olga Prokopenko
Agata
Billy Reid
Ian
Neil Leiper
Ben
Damilare Akinrinmade
Dami
Ononso Nwafor-Orizu
Nonso
Susie Lochiel-Owen
Emma

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Laura Carreira
Writers: Laura Carreira
Languages: English, Portuguese
Countries: Portugal, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released last year.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Portuguese.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Portugal, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Laura Carreira, shot by Karl Kürten. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Helle le Fevre shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Joana Santos and Inês Vaz and Olga Prokopenko carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt30766504 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 48 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Laura Carreira directs. Karl Kürten behind the camera. Helle le Fevre cuts. Produced in Portugal, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English, Portuguese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released last year.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Portuguese.
3International production across 2 countries: Portugal, United Kingdom.
4Directed by Laura Carreira, shot by Karl Kürten. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Helle le Fevre shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Joana Santos and Inês Vaz and Olga Prokopenko carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt30766504 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 48 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Karl Kürten
Editing: Helle le Fevre
Makeup / hair: Kat Morgan
Sound: Ines Adriana
Runtime: 101 min · 1h 41m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: On Falling (2025)

Also by

Laura Carreira

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-12-04
★ 6/10
"Aurora" (Joana Santos) has left the warmth of Portugal and moved to a rather dreich Scotland where she works as a picker in an warehouse. The job is the epitome of mundanity and repetitiveness - walking the aisles scanning items bought online and making sure she does it quickly enough to earn her paltry reward at the end of the week. It couldn't quite be called "slavery", but it's not a kick in the shirt off it as she and her colleagues collect the minimum wage for their work. She lives in a flat-share where the daily routine extends to microwave meals and the occasional chat with her flatmates. One new lad, "Kris" (Piotr Sikora) arrives and seems a little more inclined to break the monotony of things, but she accidentally drops her phone and the £99 it costs to have the screen repaired pretty much wipes her out for the month and reduces her to a starvation diet. Perhaps there are hopes of a new job? At any rate, she has to break this depressing cycle before it breaks her! This film doesn't miss and hit the wall when it presents us with the automation of human life. "Aurora" lives a life of a robot, and the brain-rot that it induces is plain to see, but sadly it also indices a bit of ennui in the viewer too. It's very authenticity is what makes it dull to watch and none of the characterisations are remotely developed enough to make anyone care about her. Sure, the environment is a shocking indictment of the consumer culture that is best exemplified here by a team brief in which they celebrate the corporate glory by giving the staff a cup cake, but once that point has been made and absorbed, the rest of this is just as unchanging as the message. Why is she here? Why doesn't she return home? Her emotional and physical isolation seems contrived for dramatic purposes rather than being particularly plausible. The acting is competent enough and there isn't so much dialogue to trouble us so maybe that's why I found it all just a bit too one-dimensional.

Production companies