A man wakes up in a dark cave uncertain who he is or how he got there. He then begins a long climb to the surface through a cave system and through a buried city.
Dark (literally and figuratively) quest tale that plays kind of like an arboreal-Matrix film. Operating at time like a classic quest tale the film also has echoes of films like Tarkovsky's Stalker and Solaris, not to mention the martial arts film Circle of Iron. It's a heady mix of ideas that only occasionally springs to life. The problem is that the films pacing is erratic at best. Some sequences move along at a good clip but others drag on and on. I understand that we're suppose to be following his slow progress but at the same time there is only so much fumbling in the dark that we can watch before getting bored. Yes I understand this is a dark environment but at the same time I'd like to have a sense of place (beyond the dark underground) and direction until we get to the areas with the stairs we have no real sense where anyone one is moving.
I know I'm picking but at the same time this could have been and should have been a better film, There are pieces that work and the visual style is often dynamite. I think the problem is that when I got to the end of the film I was kind of left hanging. I was like that's it? And while I will freely admit I may have missed something I 'm pretty sure I didn't.
Ultimately I'm mixed about the film. As much as I can pick at the film there is something about the film that is haunting. There is something that has stayed with me some twenty plus hours after seeing it. Perhaps it should be chalked up to being an interesting misfire. I recommended it for those who want heady scifi over guns space ships and are willing to take a chance.
Dark (literally and figuratively) quest tale that plays kind of like an arboreal-Matrix film. Operating at time like a classic quest tale the film also has echoes of films like Tarkovsky's Stalker and Solaris, not to mention the martial arts film Circle of Iron. It's a heady mix of ideas that only occasionally springs to life. The problem is that the films pacing is erratic at best. Some sequences move along at a good clip but others drag on and on. I understand that we're suppose to be following his slow progress but at the same time there is only so much fumbling in the dark that we can watch before getting bored. Yes I understand this is a dark environment but at the same time I'd like to have a sense of place (beyond the dark underground) and direction until we get to the areas with the stairs we have no real sense where anyone one is moving.
I know I'm picking but at the same time this could have been and should have been a better film, There are pieces that work and the visual style is often dynamite. I think the problem is that when I got to the end of the film I was kind of left hanging. I was like that's it? And while I will freely admit I may have missed something I 'm pretty sure I didn't.
Ultimately I'm mixed about the film. As much as I can pick at the film there is something about the film that is haunting. There is something that has stayed with me some twenty plus hours after seeing it. Perhaps it should be chalked up to being an interesting misfire. I recommended it for those who want heady scifi over guns space ships and are willing to take a chance.