Today for HollyShorts, I’m taking a look at some sci-fi films that are part of the festival. Science fiction often offers us ways to look at our world as if from the outside. Good sci-fi is not about technology, per se, as much as it is about our humanity in whatever circumstance.
Paeonia (17 minutes, US [although in Cantonese], directed by Pedro Xavier Buson) takes us to a far away planet. Fai is on a solo mission on a desert planet, where he works to find a variety of peony which will survive in the brutal environment. But then one day a car drives up and a man claiming to be his brother gets out to try to take him home. Is the whole space mission a delusion, or perhaps his brother’s appearance is a hallucination brought on by isolation? Actually, this is my second viewing of this film (I saw it last fall at AFIFest). It focuses the way we may try to escape grief and the pains of the world.
Attachment Theory (24 minutes, New Zealand, directed by Katherine Jackson) is another story of isolation. An agoraphobic artist begins getting her anxiety meds delivered by drone. The drone visually identifies her before releasing the cargo. She gives it a 5-star rating. This goes on for some time. But in time, the drone needs more. When the artist gets upset, a battle ensues—one that could be deadly for one or both of them. This film kind of feeds off our paranoia of AI and its place in our lives. It is interesting that the artist’s self-portraits keep getting darker as the film progresses, mirroring her own mood and depression.
I’m Not a Robot (23 minutes, Netherlands, directed by Victoria Warmerdam) is another AI story. A young woman working on her computer needs to do an update, but she can’t get past the CAPTCHA task to prove she not a robot. She’s directed to take an online test that shows a 87% possibility that she is a robot. This is making her crazy. She calls her boyfriend, who becomes very weird. He then shows up at her work with a strange woman who confirms she is indeed a robot who the boyfriend bought. Would you handle such information well? This is a kind of lighthearted reworking of the themes of Blade Runner.
Above & Within (21 minutes, US, directed by Patrick Hall) has some sci-fi aspects, but is really more of a psychological thriller. A young rancher whose father has died lives an almost hermit-like existence. He soon encounters a square pillar on the ranch that is a mirror—except the him in the mirror doesn’t move the same as the him in the world. Even his horse seems to note that something creepy is going on. In time, he can’t stand to look at any reflection. Perhaps it’s him that is the reflection of something else.
Fractal (17 minutes, US [in ASL], directed by Anslem Richardson) is a story of monsters. A young deaf black boy creates foil monsters to protect himself. One night he goes outside and one of these has come to life on his porch. But when the boy and his brother encounter the police in an alley, there may be nothing to protect them. We are expected to look at this story and identify the monsters.
Mort (3 minutes, US, directed by Giselle Bonilla) is a brief encounter of the third kind. On some other world we meet an inhabitant of that world with multiple eyes. From his clothing, we may think him a child, but large. One day he sees someone in a space suit nearby and goes to investigate. The FX of this film are just a bit better than what would be expected in an Ed Wood film. (But this isn’t about the FX. In fact, the cheesiness is a bit of the charm.) This is a film I’d have liked to see developed more. Three minutes isn’t enough for us to get any idea of who this being is or what the world is like. We only discover that our own species isn’t to be trusted with such meetings.
