Here's Your Future
It's hard to do low-budget sci-fi. And when I talk low budget, I am talking about an eight day shooting schedule and very small cast (basically, five main players and a small handful of extras). Plus making a premise that doesn't collapse under it's own weight. "Altitude Falling," a modestly created look at the near future, pulls it off, and is director Paul Bright's best film to date.To summate, it's a decade or so into the future. There's a deep recession going on, and an inexplicable war in Venezuela. People have been implanted with tracking chips, which started out as innocent ways to identify and locate people in case of serious emergencies, like accidents or natural disasters. But now the mere act of entering a mini-market ID's you and offers you a targeted special sale item. It also means that, as the war escalates, the government can find you if they need you.
The five lives interconnected here are all tied to the chips and how they evolved. Greg Forrster (Bright) has fled his old life to take residence in New Mexico, and Danny's family has come to escape their unemployed status after tidal surges have destroyed their home (the consequences of global warming are where the movie's title come from). One of the more intriguing aspects of "Altitude Falling" is just how easily this future could occur, without any whizz-bang gizmos or vacuously expensive "Avatar" effects. The fiction is subtle, but realistic. "Altitude Falling" is a provocative and enjoyable film.
score 10/10
TBROUGH 11 December 2010
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2351503/35675
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