Transfer

I thought I'd add a review, since there aren't many up yet, and this isn't a movie that I think you'd easily find information on otherwise.

Excellent movie. I was looking for some kind of cerebral sci-fi, and I definitely found it. There was a lot more social commentary than I expected (the summary on Netflix was vague), which was great. The visuals add to the commentary and plot - the white actors are so white, I mistakenly thought it was filmed in a Nordic country. (Yes, I know they are speaking German... The 'Nordic' setting seemed to make sense until I thought about the language.) The reflections are subtle enough to challenge you into thinking without hitting you in the face and getting you on the defensive.

Gattaca is an apt reference. I'd add Total Recall and Blade Runner, although the effects are more Gattaca and/or cerebral French films. Actually it reminded me of The Beat That My Heart Skipped (Audiard) as well, possibly because of the stellar soundtrack. It's also similar to Audiard's movie as a psychologically gripping film, following characters through dubious choices through to some kind of understanding and/or change.

This is a low-budget German movie with English subtitles. It was dubbed in French but not in English for some reason. In an undisclosed future time, very rich old people can transfer their minds to new healthy bodies. It turns out that the best candidates are black people. It's apparently a voluntary process since the company gives money to the poor black volunteers, which will be sent to their families. Also, the bodies get back their original minds for 4 hours each night. We follow an old white couple, very much in love, going through this process. At first we see their adaption to their new younger black bodies, including rich white society, with interludes as their bodies regain their own minds at night. The focus shifts more on the younger "minds" as it goes along.

This is not a flashy movie with special effects by any means. This world resembles very much our own except the slightly more futuristic company. Even the transfer process is extremely minimalistic and not really shown. It's not a comedy, and it keeps a serious tone throughout despite opportunities for silly mischief when the old people get "young". It's more of an intimate social drama designed to make you think. It tackles racism, capitalism, medical ethics and what a soul is, but in mostly subtle ways. I thought the acting was fine (with the exception of the blond guy at night), but not outstanding. The main black actor was probably the stand-out because of his charismatic presence. I found the story interesting, I didn't know what was going to happen, but it didn't really grab me emotionally as melodrama was tightly restrained. To be honest, the movie felt a bit cold and definitely not like a typical American movie. I almost forgot to mention the original classical music soundtrack that was surprisingly good and sometimes added much-needed emotion. I liked watching Transfer, it's worth watching if you're into slow-placed intellectual sci-fi (with no effects), but I would not buy it. On my DVD, there were no special features.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10 (good)

Transfer is a slow movie that will gently pick you up and make you face reality. It's all about life eternal, what we humans are ready to do, what can technology bring us, to what extent should we embrace it, and how much control do we have over our future.

The technology itself is totally bogus, but that is extremely easy to ignore. Once the situation is set, conflicts arise. You never know exactly where you're going to end up, and the screen writer make sure you get what you need to keep your eye riveted to the show.

The disappointments are few. A bit slow, not a lot of action, and subtitled. That's about it.

See if if you're ready for an unconventional romance set in a sterilized view of the future.

To the reviewer who gave this film 1/10 because you disagreed with the morality of choices made by the characters: are we serious right now? Transfer is obviously meant to be an imperfect world, wherein difficult and sometimes amoral choices are made. Would you kill someone to save your life partner? In the end it doesn't matter, because I'm not writing a review about you. You call it modern slavery? I can call Gataca modern eugenics, that doesn't mean it deserves 1/10.

That out of the way: transfer is a good film with tight sound design and crisp shooting, pulled together with the kind of style we've come to expect from modern sci-fi like Ex Machina. The story is engaging, as well as being controversial and even sometimes bizarre. Unfortunately, the ending fails to tie everything together in a satisfying manner, leaving the cute and happy romance bubble burst in the last few minutes of the film. That aside, transfer is by no means a bad film. I give it a 7.5/10 on its own merits alone. The 10/10 is to help offset the horrid 1/10 I don't feel it deserved.

i saw this move reading from other peoples reviews, and it really helps. I was reading the review to this movie and watched it straight away. Many people give good reviews about this movie. The makers of the movie have outdone themselves with this masterpiece, an excellent way of portraying racism in a different futuristic time of era. A brilliant sci-fi movie, and i recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys watching sci-fi movies that have cleaver smart plots,rather than stupid outrageous kwerkeyness, if you know what i mean. things you notice are fake As. You know watch movies like ALIEN ORIGINS, and Piranahconda if you know what i mean. But i really don't recommend you watch them. they really are stupidly stupid. But transfer is just a great movie, its hard not to spoil it. So i wont, just have to watch it for yourself