Sci Fi: The Weirder the Better

Last night I watched Blade Runner with my good friends, The Larsons. They had never seen it before and that always makes me happy. Part of my enjoyment of movies I love comes from seeing the reaction of people who haven't seen it. I've seen the movie a bunch of times and so don't really watch it for the plot or the story, but seeing it through their eyes, it's pretty evident that Blade Runner doesn't make a lick of sense. It's held together by just the thinnest of plots and while it does make a point about the nature of what it is to live, you really have to be paying attention to understand how it gets anywhere.

And it got me thinking: why is this movie so awesome? As I said, I've seen it a number of times, but I do remember when I saw it the first time, close to ten years ago, I didn't understand what the hype was all about. Sure it looks great, but why is it remembered as being so revolutionary? I think the reason is because Blade Runner, like all good science fiction, offers more questions than answers. The best sci-fi, in my opinion, are the ones that need to be viewed multiple times and absorbed until the viewer makes up their own mind about the meaning. Ambiguity is key.

Look at what I consider the greatest sci-fi movie of all time, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) directed by lord of all he surveys, Stanley Kubrick. I had the opportunity to see that movie in a theater within the last year, again with a first-timer. After the movie was over I asked her what she thought, and my friend said, "That was one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen; I have no idea what it was about." That's a testament to its power. It's about something, but damned if you can really decipher it. Granted, a movie that starts out with prehistoric apes, goes to a space station's diabolical computer, and culminates in our lead character turning into a giant celestial baby is hard to comprehend. The first time I saw it I thought it was just weird and it wasn't until a couple years later when I decided to watch it again (and again and again) that it affected me. I still don't know what it's about, but there comes a point where it's not really about that. As great and fun as the first Star Wars is, 2001 makes more of a thematic impact.

It isn't just weirdness for no reason, the best sci-fi tells us something about our own world and ourselves as human beings. A few years after 2001, Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky made Solaris (1972) that is in many ways a companion to Kubrick's film. It depicts Earthlings trying to communicate with a planet that by all accounts is itself intelligent and alive. Unlike 2001, the aliens provide learning not from without, but from within, as the entity makes contact by appearing to the character as his deceased wife. But we, like the lead, are never sure if she's really there or just in his head. Indeed, we never know if he is even on board the space station or still on Earth. Nothing is explained, but the continual mystery is what makes the film so indelible.

Science Fiction isn't only about special effects, though that can help. There has to be a interesting, compelling story involved. A super-low budget indie film called Primer (2004) is a good example of zero special effects actually helping a movie. It's about two scientists who create a time machine in their garage and go back in time, but they have avoid running into themselves. That's about as dumbed down as I can make it, but there's a huge amount of scientific theory going on that I couldn't begin to comprehend. This movie made my brain hurt but I enjoyed the crap out of it. Another similar film is the Spanish film Timecrimes (2007) where an unassuming family man keeps getting sent back in time and has to make sure he's not in direct contact with himself. These movies show that people can literally be their own worst enemy.

So, take your Avatar with its $350 Billion budget and blow it out your ass. Give me an introspective journey into the psyche of humans any day of the week. If the story makes sense the first time I watch it, it ain't for me. For me, the best sci-fi makes you think and not just dazzles your eyes.

Films to check out:
It Came From Outer Space (1953) dir. Jack Arnold
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) dir. Don Siegel
La Jetee (1962) dir. Chris Marker
Alphaville (1965) dir. Jean-Luc Godard
Seconds (1966) dir. John Frankenheimer
Quatermass and the Pit (1967) dir. Roy Ward Baker
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) dir. Stanley Kubrick
Silent Running (1972) dir. Douglas Trumbull
Solaris (1972) dir. Andrei Tarkovsky
Stalker (1979) dir. Andrei Tarkovsky
Blade Runner (1982) dir. Ridley Scott
Videodrome (1983) dir. David Cronenberg
Brazil (1985) dir. Terry Gilliam
Twelve Monkeys (1995) dir. Terry Gilliam
Abre Los Ojos (1997) dir. Alejandro Amenabar
Primer (2004) dir. Shane Carruth
Timecrimes (2007) dir. Nacho Vigalondo

You're welcome
-Kanderson