After We Leave

I watched this film at the Berlin SciFi film festival and enjoyed it pretty much! It's a slow paced drama, so don't watch it if your brain can't handle something more complicated than "Sharknado". I wish there were more scifi movies like this. Movies that make you think instead of giving you a headache. If something likes this bores you, then maybe you shouldn't watch dramas. Go watch your "Transformers" and "Avengers" crap. I can't believe, people are giving this film 1-star-reviews. No wonder we are getting punished with bull**it like "Rise of Skywalker" or "Star Trek Beyond".

This is one for movie-buffs and also for those with a few extra brain cells that have not been desensitized by dumb Hollywood. Although the basic premise is a simple one - futuristic dystopian Earth, run both by big business and small-town mafia, the story actually transcends a Sci-Fi to become more of a human drama and a tough-guy personal story of self-revealing. Though slow-paced there is a sort of genius in the way the screenplay slowly reveals personalities and their histories, like one of the slit-lanterns gradually uncovering the light and truth, with plenty of imagination and nuance, not only towards the audience but also to "solitary John", the central, hard-man character. There were so many opportunities to let violence rip and become cliché - but even this is disciplined and controlled, with some fulfillment in the dramatic conclusion. I'm sure that Aleem Hossain will make it big in future endeavors, provided he sticks to his principles.

Sci-fi != rockets. Sci-Fi = new situations. If you can take the same story and put it in another setting and nothing really changes then it's not Sci-Fi, it's just a drama. That it happens to take place with some futuristic elements is not enough to call it Sci-Fi

All we really get from this is a drama about a guy looking for his wife with a hard deadline to find her. The setting is mostly superfluous. I bring that up because putting it in a Sci-Fi dressing sets some expectations that there will be something new added to the world. What if robots became sentient. What if an AI declared war on the world. What if everyone had 24/7 video cameras in their eyes. What if AR was so real it caused PTSD, What if time travel was actually possible, etc...

This movie doesn't really add a strong enough "what if" to be sci-fi so when all is said and done it's a mostly mediocre drama about a guy that for some reason left his wife but now wants to find her and the only person that knows where she is is someone he screwed over previously and mostly wants to see him suffer/die.

The only things we get from the "what if" are a dead line and a reason to need his wife even if he doesn't care about her. He may or may not care about her but he needs her regardless. Those situations already exist in the real world. For example visas expire. I know several friends that had to move back to their home country even though they didn't want to leave, because their visa expired. They desperately tried to find a new job (job = visa sponsor) before their deadline, failed and had to leave. Needing a spouse for a visa is also a real world issue.

Basically this is not a Sci-Fi movie but because it's dressed as one it only disappoints those mis-lead by the setting. Remove the setting and not much changes.

I think the ending is not such a bad idea though I can see how in the end it's unstatifying and that the build up to get there doesn't make it worth while.

I was very taken by this subversive, slow-burn sci-fi about immigration and the Haves and Have-Nots. It has a well-executed, almost noir aesthetic (shot by Destroyer's Julie Kirkwood), solid acting, strong editing, and an excellent, brooding score. As a first feature filmmaker, Aleem Hossain has shown amazing potential with what he can do on a tiny budget. And seeing how many awards the film picked up at sci-fi festivals, it's clear the tastemakers agree this film is a noteworthy addition to the genre. Its ponderous tone may not be for the action-loving crowd - it's more Kelly Reichardt than James Cameron - but if you like thoughtful SF, definitely check it out.

These 1- and 2-star reviews are just ridiculous. People really have been dumbed down by Hollywood. If you like your movies glossy, formulaic, and with neat little endings that tie up all the loose ends, then this is not for you. But if you like movies with originality, that make you think, then give this a go. It's not fantastic, and it can be a little slow, but it's definitely worth watching. I'm glad I did.