Director: Duncan Jones
Rating: 1/5
I was excited to see a new film on Netflix and thought it would be something unusual and interesting. I’ve got even more convinced that this is going to be the case when I saw the beginning with Leo (Alexander Skarsgård) getting mute because his Amish parents refused medical treatment after he’s got his throat cut by the engine of their boat.
Unfortunately, this is one of the instances when I have to say that the time I spent watching this film is gone and I can never get it back. The film has so many flaws and issues that I do not know where to start and I do not think anyone could possibly remember all of them.
The story is centred in Germany because Leo’s parents decided to go back there after living in the US. At least I think this is what happened. It was so bloody hard to keep concentrated on this film. Anyway, Germany looks exactly as all futuristic places look like, excessively high buildings, flying cars and flying super-advanced takeaway service, post-digital world, etc. My question while watching this was why does Germany looks the same as the US looks like in futuristic films? There is nothing unique about Germany anymore? I know that it was Communism that always sought to undermine anything distinctive and unique in order to create everything common, which is why all buildings built by Communist regimes in post-Communist Europe look the same and stand out of the national style (in a bad way). But, this world that the director is trying to portray is not Communist. It is super capitalist and hedonist, so why not something more creative and distinctive?
The film barely has a story except Leo looking for Naadirah (Seyneb Saleh) when she disappears and this is the whole film. It reminds of many similar films when one is turning the Earth upside down to find a loved one, such as for example ‘Taken’ where a desperate father is looking for his kidnapped daughter.
However, in this film there is no real action. Just Leo showing pictures of Naadirah when looking for her and other people talking with him assuming what he wants. But, that is not really a problem because I like the inclusive part, i.e. promoting people with disabilities is nice. What is the problem is the scenery which is just boring and morbid and there is hardly any story about their lives or anything else. I barely managed to force myself to finish watching the film, and I had a nap somewhere in the middle. That says it all.
Thank you for reading.