Now this something I don't normally do; watch and review films. I don't know what impulse led me to go watch this film at 11h30AM (and be only person in the cinema) but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with the fact that somewhere in the attached film review on the film schedule I saw the words; "Phillip K. Dick adaption". Thats all i needed to see to go watch this film. Now I have run this blog for over half a year and I haven't mentioned PKD? I'm the ultimate fucking Dick-head. I have been obsessed with PKD since i by chance picked up a copy of his 1981 pre-fatal-stroke trilogy, Valis, in a second-hand bookstore in Longstreet. I had no idea who he was and had no conception of what his work would do to my life, essentially changing it's course forever. I just liked the cool picture on the cover.
Anyway, it seems I will be reviewing this film in the context of it being a PKD adaption, which is wholly unfair on the director, George Nolfi, I know. In its own right its a cool film to watch. I wouldn't go as far to say that its a great film and don't know enough about film to successfully rate it but I enjoyed it. I always love films about New York, films that explore the devious complexities of the megalopolis of our current era. Its really just a medium budget hollywood production with cool shots and engaging interplay between the characters, however it lacks the dystopianism of other Dickien adaptions like Blade Runner, A Scanner Darkly and Total recall but makes up for it with a quirky philosophical edge, characteristic of some of Dicks lesser known stories that deal with alternitve futures and the concept of free will. The world Jones Made comes to mind. It has been said in many great spiritual texts that the universe is largely pre-determined, however we as human beings, uniquely so, have the potential to introduce an element of chance into the equation. And with my moderate research into the motives behind extra-terrestrial activity involving human beings, it is this "free-will" that fascinates our brothers in space. For all our crudeness and gross imperfections we seem to possess this unique gift of manipulating our fate; although not always for the better.
So before I go on a bit of a sci-fi deviation lets get back to the film, which I must add is refreshingly devoid of the trappings of convention sci-fi. This a mind-fuck film in the tradition of 90s classics like The Truman Show and The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind but it ain't some wacky sci-fi flick. I esspecially like the idea of the "God's will" being a plan, that is enfored by a shadowy agency. Men in suits and hats, shifting between this world and the "bureau", always behind the scenes making sure that things go according the plan. In the story, the ultimate authority is the chairman, or what we mortals would deduce to be God, although there is no mention whatsoever of the word "God" in the story, the suggestion is clear.
The pinnacle revelation is when our protagonist is revealed the the magnitude of the plan. We learn that the Bureau has attempted to give humanity free-will in the past only to have us gloriously screw it up each time, the first experiment being shortly after the formation of the Christian church, we responded to this freedom by descending in the Dark ages for 500 years. The Bureau stepped in and took away our free-will and give us the renaissance and the industrial revolution. They then decided to give us another chance in 1910CE, but within 50 years we fucked it up again, with World War 1, The Great Depression, World War 2, The Nuclear Bomb, The Rise of Totalitarianism, The Cold War and finally bringing the world to the brink of annihilation with the Cuban missile crisis. After that they just had to step in again.
Some big ideas to chew on, but at the end of the day this just another Hollywood love story for the masses. Still fun though.
