Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

Teringer An Exercise In Nonsense

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Marc Colten I checked the spoiler warning but there's no need. I defy anyone to make a coherent statement about anything in this film that would give anything away. There's no beginning, no middle and no end. Nothing is explained or makes sense on its own. I watched the French version with English subtitles, but I might as well have watched the Swahili version with subtitles in Esperanto. Worse yet, it's filmed in "seizure vision".The only good news is I have a new addition to my list of "Why the French should not be allowed to make science fiction movies" which include - Fantastic Planet, Le Jete, The Fifth Element, Immortal and Alphaville.

doctorgonzo23 While I do admire several things about this movie, namely the excellent sets and creature make-up effects, I don't think that there is really enough revealed to result in a coherent story line. Yes, if you read through other comments on this site you will come across countless reviews that seem to indicate that "the only people who don't like this movie are those who are not intelligent enough to get it" and that there is "more than enough information revealed throughout the film to explain the goings on" or some such nonsense. I think we can all appreciate the idea here; our main character is an amnesiac lost in a frightening and surreal (and dangerous) subterranean world. By deliberately refusing to reveal key background information, the director keeps us on the same intellectual level as the character; i.e. we can better relate because we as an audience are also in the dark. That's the concept in a nutshell. If you don't like the sounds of it, I would suggest you rent something else. If you do decide to check it out, however, there are some very interesting ideas in the film.One of the questions this film asks is to what extent humans can become comfortable with exploiting other humans, perhaps even to what extent the exploited come to view the exploitation as normal or deserved. If Utopia is possible for the few at the expense of the many, is utopia an ethical pursuit? What is the value of a single human life? Do we treat people as an expendable commodity? This is not a film that is devoid of substance or merit, it merely suffers from a style that most will not find comfortable and familiar.If nothing else, it is quite a film to look at. I found that the sets invoked a cyber-punk quality, a sort of analog nightmare straight out of "Brazil". A pervasive greyness punctuated by blinding white light. The light itself rarely illuminates nearly as much as it obscures (a metaphor for ethical blindness in the futuristic society perhaps...).If you're feeling a little adventurous and you've got the patience to endure the constant guessing game, give it a whirl.

rgcustomer There is a lot to like about this film, particularly the first half of it. Like pretty much all films of the "I just woke up here alone" genre, it's thoughtful and captivating. And it moves nicely into the "yet another zombie movie" genre that these things tend to turn into. But the style and the focus are very, very good. This film deserves to be recognized for that, if nothing else. I also liked that, even though you saw the man's identity coming, it was still satisfying when it was revealed.There were some things I didn't like: (1) The pacing, particularly in the second half, is dreadfully slow, and for no good reason.(2) Many, many, many questions are left unanswered. Why is this man biologically special? If the tree roots feed on humans, why do we need to hang humans in boxes from the branches? What is turning humans into these monsters? Why is level -1 so much higher up from level -2 than any of the other levels were apart? Who is the guy who appeared to be integrated into the wall, and how did he think he was sabotaging things? Why would someone so willingly let himself be experimented on by a stranger wearing a mask? How did he get unclothed in the mud? Why bother with an apparently irrelevant religious quote at the start? What good did growing the tree at the end do? (3) Ultimately, after sitting through a reasonably good zombie mystery, it's incredibly annoying for the payoff to be a lecture on energy use and the world's indigenous poor people. It's not the point of view I have trouble with, but the heavy-handed way it was narrated to us in the last few scenes on level 0. Avatar is a much better example of how to get across a message without being lecturing.

jaybird2k101 I found the first 3 to 5 minutes annoying. Snips of scene flashing on screen got boring. Someone went to school and thought flashing lights were really cool. A bit of an overkill. Darkness all through the film adds to the feeling that perhaps you don't want to know what is happening. The story unfolds in bits and pieces, as the main character stumbles through a maze of tunnels, caves or what ever. More flashy lights. For the most part I found the story interesting. Most of the backdrop, and sets are very compelling, especially toward the end. The grainy B/W photography, adds to the suspense, as does the hollow echoy sound. Loved the ending. I have just watched it once, but I will probably watch it again. Enjoy, good Sci-Fi.