DVD Earthbound
Run time: 93 min
Rating: 5.6
Genres: Comedy | Fantasy | Romance
Director: Alan Brennan
Writers: Alan Brennan
Stars: Rafe Spall, Jenn Murray, Stephen Hogan
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Storyline Young Joe is an alien living on Earth. At least that’s what his father told him before he died when Joe was eleven. His father unsuccessfully wrote sci-fi stories, and Joe loves sci-fi. He has told that he must not deal with humans, unless they are more than 85 percent compatible with himself. When we meet Joe again, he is 26, and the fantasy keeps him going. But is it a fantasy, or is it real? Joe’s life changes radically when he meets a more than 85 percent compatible girl. Can Joe trust himself? Does he know what’s real? Written by OJT |
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Plot Keywords: alien, written by director, medication, pills, padlock | |
Details: Country: Ireland Release Date: 15 March 2013 (Ireland) |
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4 comments
I saw this film at the Imagine film festival 2013 in Amsterdam. Though advertising itself as a festival for SF/horror/fantasy, this was one out of a meager set of three movies truthfully labeled as SciFi. Our main character (Joe) heard from this father that he is the last surviving member of the royal family of planet Zalaxon, exiled many many years ago because of a hostile occupation force. To prevent extinction Joe has to find a compatible partner, produce some offspring before it is too late, and eventually return to Zalaxon when the time is ripe. In the beginning of the film, we see him on the lookout for worm holes that appear on sparse moments, possibly carrying a missile from his home planet to bring him back to his roots.
A parallel plot ingredient is the romance interwoven in the story. Joe carries a device with him that allows him to measure "compatibility" when a candidate woman comes close. He is a certified nerd, not going out much, always busy with computing time tables for worm holes to appear, and has otherwise little interest in socializing. Also, while working in a comic book shop with an exclusively male clientèle, chances are very slim that he'll meet the right woman ever. Yet, one day Maria appears in the shop, bringing a box of things she found while cleaning out the attic. We see that his compatibility meter shows an exceptionally high value. It forces him to arrange a real date for the first time in his life. And he takes a lot of trouble to prevent the relationship from faltering. As a result, we have "moving" music on various moments, some of the time crescendo to clarify the point (we got it already).
The scenario is built very well, letting us viewers continuously in doubt whether Joe's story is indeed true or just imagination. He only communicates with his father by means of a hologram. Though explicitly forbidden to let others know of his background, he finally decides to present Marian to his father. Alas, precisely at that moment, the hologram does not appear (we know Maria inadvertently removed an essential part of the device). Moreover, the planet Zalaxon cannot be found on star charts, plus it being the name of a medicinal drug that Maria found in Joe's medication closet. None of those observations improve the credibility of his story.
For the larger part of the running time we see relatively limited use of gadgets, except for the last ten minutes where it really has the looks of a SciFi movie. But still, are we seeing a true voyage home, or is it all just Joe's imagination?? I consider this uncertainty to be the real beauty of the story, leaving us behind with doubts about aliens and life on other planets. That is A Good Thing for the SciFi lover in particular, and for the average viewer in general.
All in all, I can recommend this movie for SciFi fans and also for the rest of the family. The mix of SciFi and a love story makes it acceptable for a broad audience. The "moving" music may exaggerate a bit from time to time, but not to the extent of being annoying. The festival visitors gave this film a 7.54 score for the audience award.
Nice little movie. Felt so much like a Dr. Who episode, you know those ones where the Dr. isn't there? Good solid story. Great job on the special effects. I thought going into this that it was a low budget one camera little movie, but this is a serious film with a really sweet story, and great chemistry between the leads as they grow to know, and love each other. Solid cast of villains, or simply people in the world around Joe that is for you to decide, or discover. A great deal of though, and effort obviously went into the design and feel of all of the space "toys", and gadgets. Cinematography was simple, and never over the top, no swooping crane shots, or fast close-ups. My number 1 favorite thing about this movie is that at no time do you hear That creaking gate sound effect that everyone uses since the 60's, sorry now that you know, you will always hear it too. You will enjoy this movie however.
EARTHBOUND (2012 – Ireland) Raindance Film Festival review by Matthew Solo
On these little islands that sit somewhere off the coast of mainland Europe and a long way from mainstream America, we do things quite differently. Our comedies are different, our romantic films are different, and when we combine the two, the results are often quirky, usually touching and invariably funny to us at least.
EARTHBOUND is exactly that combination of results. Now before I go any further, we are not talking Four Weddings here, our feet are firmly strapped to the ground of low budget independent cinema. However, throwing science fiction into the mix, this film is a charming and ambitious debut by Alan Brennan. Made in Ireland and shot in a mere 20 days, EARTHBOUND never sets any false pretences of what you can expect. It's easy to empathise with Joe (Rafe Spall), who is convinced he's an alien from the planet Zalaxon. And we sympathise with Maria (Jenn Murray), his super cute girlfriend who breaks the news to him that his intergalactic fantasies are nothing but just that. And the supporting cast is equally strong, including David Morrissey who was attracted to the project by the story.
The special effects are obviously constrained by budget, but you don't care! The whole film works due to the interplay between the leads and the humour of the storyline. The script really is fun and the cast deliver it well. It's not often you get to see an independent sci-fi film that embraces comedy and romance as well (if at all for that matter), but EARTHBOUND is an easy to watch excursion through all three. It's also not often I laugh out loud in the cinema, but I found myself not alone in doing so.
Hearing the director and cast talk about their adventures making the film, you can see their comic chemistry in action and wonder when they'll be back. Let's hope it's not too many light years away.
I decided to watch this film on a bit of a whim, partly because I like Rafe Spall. He is the sort of actor that is always the best thing about an otherwise unremarkable production, but this time, despite putting in another good performance, he is held back by a script that seems to have been written by a priest trying to surreptitiously infiltrate a secular drama group in order to brainwash them, before giving up and blackmailing a producer or two that spoke a bit too freely during confession.
The main character called Joe wants to get with a girl called Maria either because he is the last remaining Alien of his species or he is an incredibly delusional human, and keeps looking up to the sky to try and see a bright flashing star. There were no donkeys actually on screen, but the overbearing symbolism treats the audience as if they were the ass.
After a slightly contrived yet sort of charmingly amusing set-up, the film then proceeds to pontificate on whether it is right to break someone's belief system if that system gives them strength to live, regardless of if the system is flawed or not. The answer it tries to sell is a resounding yes, but it fails to approach the issue with any actual balance.
If you want to see a good sci-fi film about an Alien who may or may not be crazy, then watch K-Pax. If this film knocks on your door make sure you slam it shut and put on the chain. Double lock it for good measure.
A waste of your time.