Alongside Night

The Libertarian view of the future is explored in this film Alongside nights which shows the USA approximately 10 to 15 years from now where we have bankrupted ourselves and our citizens with worthless paper money. So when Pat Boone tells you to buy gold, you'd better rush out and get a hunk of that stuff, preferably in Krugerrand form.

Warning all of this impending calamity is Nobel Prize winning economist Kevin Sorbo who's seen as a threat to the government which is as full of intrigue as any government in the Mid East now. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is now our secret police and they keep a lot of their own secrets. No mention is made of the FBI, Secret Service or the CIA, wonder where they all went. Our Armed Forces are useless, they're actually unionized and on strike.

Sorbo's precocious kid Christian Kramme an economics major and guerrilla fighter is the key player in this film. This is one badly directed, badly acted film by some players like Star Trek Voyager refugees Tim Russ and Garrett Wang who've seen better days.

So folks, stockpile your weapons and get your Krugerrands while you may.

First of all, the production value is excellent, save for one scene towards the end, for what I imagine was quite a small budget. And I found the acting to be above your average Hollywood, not to mention an Indie film. Perhaps because of a number of experienced actors that are in it. No household names, other than Sorbo, but fine actors in their own right. I was especially pleased with the young leads, always difficult to find good ones.

The action runs quickly although not smoothly at all times. There are holes in the plot but the story seems secondary to me. Far from being tedious, the film brings forth ideas which are not in the mainstream and explains them fairly well. I found this quite refreshing if anyone can name a film which is as interesting in expressing a pro-government position please let me know.

To summarize: pros: good-looking film for a small Indie, I was very pleased with the acting, an interesting and decent exposition of fresh ideas, something the industry is desperate for. Cons: a fairly unexciting story line and a muddled ending. Watch if you have a curious mind. 8/10

Knowing something about the difficulties in the making of this movie, I sat in genuine open-mouthed awe.

Author, producer, and director J. Neil Schulman just died a couple nights ago, as I type, and I have cried buckets already. Watching this astonishingly good movie, I have cried even more: What an extraordinary talent we have lost.

J. Neil and I never met, but we exchanged many communications. I felt we were more than acquaintances, and we were certainly allies.

I have been impressed by his writings for decades now, and recently I discovered his short posts on Facebook were often hilarious.

J. Neil was an advocate of human liberty. I notice many of the negative reviewers here dislike that concept. They prefer authoritarianism, or even tyranny, judging by their words. Of course they won't like this movie.

But it is so good, it has such an engrossing story, and it is so well acted, so well directed, so well photographed, one need not be in philosophical agreement to appreciate, admire, and like "Alongside Night."

Of course I was predisposed to like it, but what I saw just overwhelmed me with its inventiveness and great production values, and even a good score.

My only complaint, and I am crying as I type this, is that I didn't see and review this excellent creation so J. Neil could know how much more I admire him, how much more I marvel at his talent, after watching "Alongside Night."

I do highly recommend this movie, and hope millions of people will buy a copy. It won't help J. Neil now, and he desperately needed the money in his last years, but it will be a tribute to him, a small way to say "J. Neil Schulman, R.I.P."

Alongside Night is a fast paced drama / action adventure with significant implications for our future. It's full of great actors and well directed. Instead of relying on special effects and chase scenes it has a well thought out plot structure. The characters are interesting and appealing. You really get invested in what is happening to them. It's based on a novel that came out in 1982, predicting the massive economic problems facing the world now and has been upgraded to fit in well with the present day, futurism that is coming true before our very eyes. I strongly suggest that you see this movie before reading the novel to avoid spoilers, but I read the book when it first came out and still found it entertaining, a damn good movie.

I could really identify with the female character 'Lorimar'. She is independent, intelligent and is able to handle a firearm. Honestly, I had to watch this movie about three times in order to really 'get it'. he script is complex and covers a lot of material but at about the third viewing you can readily see the merit of this film. I think that a lot of the negative reviews come from people that don't want to be lectured or taught free-market principles. Moreover, when you consider that this film was produced on a budget of less that $1,000,000 the production value is absolutely astounding!