Michael's Movie Grade: A-
A wonderful sci-fi film from France.
Despite the sci-fi elements, this film is first and foremost about our main character, a young woman who has given up on her ambitions after her beloved brother seemingly disappears. Over the course of an hour and a half, we get to know her as well as we know ourselves. Because of this even with the fantastic elements, this movie feels completely real to us. We are drawn in as we feel the pain of the loss of her brother, and we are thrown into her inner conflict of whether she is willing to sacrifice others to bring her brother back to her. This is not a movie about aliens (even though the play a major role in the story) but about perseverance through great loss. Perhaps this is why the sci-fi elements are never fully explained because there is no need for them to be. We just accept them and focus on the drama of the main character. The fact that there is only one scene in which we get a glimpse of an alien and only a couple of scenes with real action actually helps the film. It helps internalize the conflict even further. Yet the film also keeps a sense of visual interest throughout. Probably the best example of this is the brief animated scenes where her and her brother are allowed to talk. The use of animation stresses how he can not be in the real world with her and makes it feel like these scenes are taking place on a different plane. It also helps us see that in these scenes she gets to be the real her (she had always dreamed of being an artist and her brother was one of the few people she shared her work with).
While those who prefer the more action oriented side of sci-fi might not be interested, this is a very smart and emotionally engaging movie that will stay with you.
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