If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.
View MoreThis movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.
View MoreAmazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.
View MoreThis is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
View MoreThis movie is quite original! It's dream-like quality is simply delightful. I thought to myself while watching this film, "imagine what could have been accomplished with a larger budget and a harder edge!" This is a subversive story, one that political conservatives will detest. With chests puffed-out they will sing the following chorus: "What gives an "extraterrestrial outsider" the right to condemn the human race's destruction of the environment, and ostracize our precious way of life? A filmmaker with guts, that's who! The love affair between two lonely strangers, is shown to be both confusing and inspiring. While one being is obviously an alien with a unique ability to control time & place, she is in some ways, all too human! How ironic! While message movies are - for the most part - out of vogue. I dearly hope that when they come back in fashion they tackle issues regarding the health of the world's environment with a vengeance!
View MoreIt's no surprise that this movie never had any theatre play in my neck of the woods. No CGI, no explosions, no "action", just plenty of hard-hitting dialogue and a story about overcoming denial and making good decisions."Alien Visitor" is a simple tale about how a good natured fellow has his worldview transformed by a woman from another star system. Like most of us, he is aware of Earth's environmental and social problems, but refuses to take any personal responsibility for them, and does his best to ignore the issues altogether. "She" is disgusted by this "Earth mentality", and ruthlessly and repeatedly forces him to face the truth and his own complicity in the planet's destruction.The movie is primarily a morality tale, and one that should be mandatory viewing in my opinion--the issues are too important to be ignored. But it is also an impressive look at other little concepts, like the stubborn human psyche, or how relationships mean more than anything else. It shows us how difficult it is to shift long-held viewpoints, even with irrefutable evidence, and how it is often love that helps us finally accept ideas that are otherwise too agonizing. Finally, it shows us that we do at least have the power to change ourselves for the better if me just make the effort.For all this, and that fact that it's all done without a major budget, I give "Alien Visitor" an 8/10.
View MoreEpsilon proves that science fiction need not be only about huge special effects, cross marketing and vapid story lines. (Don't get me wrong, I like these things to, they just aren't essential)This film has an incredible heart, a storyline which while fairly simple is nonetheless thoughtprovoking and powerfully emotional, some fantastic performances from The Man and She, who are under the camera in every scene and shine and beautiful cinematography.Rolf de Heer is like an Oz Cohen brother, he has put his hand to a wide variety of genres of film and never once failed to deliver a masterpiece (or near masterpiece)It may be hard to find this film and you may find it a little slow to begin with, but just let it draw you in and feel your consciousness evolve. (Ok, that maybe a little over the top but it is pretty profound)
View MoreThis film had the potential to be a truly great flick .. but was let down badly by its 'sledgehammer' approach to environmental issues, and the appallingly bad acting in the closing scene.As an armchair greenie, I was pleased to see a film that brought the issues of sustainable resource development to the forefront .. but the continuous hammering on a single issue became annoying.There are, however, some excellent moments in the movie.The concept of "You breathe the foul air" as a dismissive insult is particularly evocative, and the ever-changing scenery does far more to draw attention to Ullie Birve's 'alien-ness' as She than all of Hollywood's FX could ever do.Unlike most science-fiction of the 90s, this was not a chance to show off technological whizz-bangery .. and Rolf de Heer has, with just a few camera angle & location changes, done a masterful job of showing us changed perceptions.Syd Brisbane, another de Heer favourite, plays the role of The Man with just the right combination of wide-eyed wonderment and plodding suburban pig-headedness .. but there needed to be more made of his Saul-like conversion if his later, unseen role was to be believed.Which brings us to the final scene.Althea McGrath's narration was quietly brilliant throughout the film, and her on-camera acting in the final scene was OK, if not outstanding. But oh, her grandchildren ...Chloe and Phoebe Ferguson got quite good reviews for their roles in another de Heer film, "The Quiet Room" .. but unfortunately in Epsilon, their minor (but crucial) roles as "Child" and "Child" in the campfire sequence don't work.In fact, the closing scene makes the entire movie like the fire itself: it casts light, it crackles and flares .. but eventually the wooden performances in the dying embers of the film leave nothing but ashes .. and the mood that de Heer has tried to conjure up blows away like so much smoke.Which is a pity because, as I began, this movie could have been so much more.
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