Eden Log

Hands down. A truly interesting picture held in the gripping nocturne atmosphere of the dark sci-fi. Very simple, little dialog and few action-filled scenes with lots of details and original ideas. Eden Log is something like a debut from the french director and with this stylish calling card I am helluva sure we will be hearing from this guy again. The story is compelling the viewer making him no less confused than the main protagonist and that was the whole point. The viewer becomes the main persona searching for answers while tripping balls through the dark corridors of the tech cave. The director could easily made it clear with one sentence in the beginning like the most of the crapbag movies today. "The year is... this is... he is... an experiment... and he... " and the rest would be just blank silence with no reasonable point at all. Indeed. Different approach is needed worldwide. I can't even remember the last know good sci-fi movie I've enjoyed and Eden Log came like a small shotgun blast in the head. The black/white editing is very convincing, make-up effects, acting and the ambient sounds and music are very horrific. Man, I really loved the deep voice and look of the Guards. Reminds me of F.E.A.R. from Monolith and this is the funky thing. The whole movie seemed like a filmed game to me. So, if you like sci-fi, this is the movie for you.

Eden Log is somewhat of a good surprise for a french scifi movie. Think of a arty and elaborate form, beautiful black and white photography with rare under lit colors.

What matters here is the mood more than the script, the first half of Eden Log is just the claustrophobic graphic story of a guy covered in mud trying to get out of a dark and low-tech labyrinth, with no memory at all of how he got there. There are very few dialogs, and there aren't even necessary.

Unfortunately, the last third of the movie doesn't quite lives up to it's beginning, the script is somehow too confuse and too explicit at the same time, and the dark and mysterious image of the beginning vanish due to the necessity of writing an acceptable end.

Still i would recommend this movie, it has a very original tone and form, rarely seen these days, and manages to create something on its own, aside from both the Hollywood scene, and the overall shitty genre french scene (if you've seen Chrysalis, you exactly know what i mean !) More than that : If you're fan of graphic and kind of arty movies like Tarkovsky's Stalker, Cube, Aronofsky's Pi, Caro & Jeunet's Le Bunker De La Dernière Rafale, that Forsaken thing or Guy Maddin's pictures you should definitely check it !

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* The verdict.

Eden Log could be the first in a series of films on the topic and, if that were so, it could herald a project ambitious enough to rank among history's top Sci-Fi features along the likes of The Matrix and Artificial Intelligence. At present, it feels like an artistic short film and a 90 minute long one at that.

* The nitty-gritty.

If you decide to watch Eden Log, do not expect a large dose of entertainment. The film can be appreciated as a work of art, can be admired for its unique feel, but it leaves the audience unsatiated.

The world presented in Eden Log is severely limited in scope, awkward and, at times, presents frustrating problems. It takes a moment to adjust to the pace of the film, since the tempo would not have to be slowed down much to make Eden Log run in real time. A word to bear in mind over the first ten minutes of the film is 'patience'. It appears that the strategy employed by the director is to immerse the audience in the world of Eden Log through long exposure to its Sci-Fi elements. As such, one has to be in the right frame of mind to appreciate the attempt.

The plot could be summarised in about four sentences, but, to judge Eden Log on the plot, is to miss the point. The focus here is on appealing to the senses and a more complex plot would be a distraction.

All in all, Eden Log was an experience, but with a dead end. It is just one of those productions, which has the feel of the first part of a splendid trilogy, but which is not actually going to be a trilogy, because of the conceptual limitations placed upon the project at its outset by the director.

* Vote.

None can be given.

I do not want to include spoilers in my comment so I will keep it short. The reason for this is that the success of the film lies in the haunting atmosphere and the journey on which it takes the viewer more than in any actual plot. Indeed, the film is centred around one character and the viewer more or less watches events unfold from the character's viewpoint. The world first time director Frank Vestiel creates is truly haunting and very original, it is miles away from most of the clichés used to recreate a futuristic world. The atmosphere is eerie and dialogue is kept to a minimum. The soundtrack is absolutely beautiful. The plot is however a little unclear and some sequences are quite long, and they are the more oppressive as the viewer is plunged in darkness. But overall a very original film with very interesting camera work and haunting and beautiful visuals especially considering this is Vestiel's first full length feature with a limited budget at his disposal. Definitely one to watch on the big screen.

Didn't expect much when I started it and thought it might be some kind of horror like "The Descent" to pass some time...

At first, especially during the first 5 minutes I was kind of confused and might've even turned it off, the constantly flashing light and the grunts of the main character put me off quite a bit, until the story started to unfold and I got to watch one of the better Sci-Fi's I've seen in the last few years.

I guess the movie is either underrated because people turned it off in the very first few minutes or because they expected a horror-movie/didn't pay enough attention to understand the plot.

It was great to see the hero start with a completely clean slate, while discovering what is going on all around him and uncovering the plot and the setting of the movie-world to finally even find out about his true identity and still do what he deemed right with all of his newfound experiences and pieces of information in the back of his mind.

For me it's somewhere between a 7 and a 8, I gave it a 8.