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.
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.