Pendant ce temps sur Terre

One actress here and very good she is too at expressing emotion; great presence

Great landscapes. But the storyline .... dear this goes nowhere there are clever little bits the little bro the seed in her ear to communicate with the aliens all nice

But no ending .... like a river which dries and disappears in sands

When you tell a story you need a story and often these days there is not. All is done well elegantly but without a complete story you have nowt and frankly no one will remember this one i will not

I gave it it a 4 could have given it a 6 maybe for the originality contained here but i felt cheated at the end as in what happened .... it could not be completed .....

Watch it tho if only for the acting.

I just barely found out about Meanwhile on Earth a few hours ago and decided to buy a ticket and go in blind. As unorthodox as this film was, the overall atmosphere is mostly what i expected. That's not to say it was predictable or bad. I just had an inkling this would be way more soft science fiction rather than something crazy and epic. I wasn't fully enthralled by the story, which sometimes felt meandering and lethargic but the visual style for the film deserves all sorts of praise and accolades. My lord, it was beautiful. I also quite enjoyed the relative originality to the story at the very least. It's not a perfect film but it definitely a low key and singular exercise that succeeds on a small scale. I have a feeling that I'll revisit it when it comes to streaming.

B-

Saw this at the Imagine 2024 film festival in Amsterdam. It is not for the SciFi elements that I rank this movie 7 out of 10, but for the human dilemmas posed. Actually, I wanted to rate 8 out of 10, but it takes too long before we reach the core of the matter. It will let people lose interest before the real issues become clear. Not good, storytelling wise.

In essence, it is about how many lives of living humans you don't know you can take, when needed in exchange for the live of one man you know (your brother) and persistently want to get back. It starts easily when someone conspiring to rape our main protagonist Elsa, becomes the first candidate to be sacrificed in the race to obtain 5 living persons to trade for her brother lost in space. (Elsa severely damaged the attempting rapist with a chainsaw, rendering him unusable to host an alien.)

The next 3 are elderly people from the nursing home where Elsa works, most of them demented, so in some way a defendable act as a humane way out. So far so good. However, still three hours from the deadline, Elsa lets a man go who she picked up from the street (pushing a defective motorbike; offering to bring him home). While underway, the man spoke enthusiastically about his plans to open a restaurant, obviously a potentially useful member of society. It is a merciful thing to do, despite the narrow timeline for rescuing her brother...

The only SciFi involved is the sparse communications Elsa has with her brother in space, and with the five aliens around him. And related visuals showing where the brother is now. The brother seems genuine, as he tells a story out of their common past that only they know. The transfer of all five aliens is a prerequisite for bringing her brother back to earth, hence the chase for five humans to sacrifice, to be used as carrier for the aliens.

All in all, the slow burn may annoy some people, in addition to the fact that hardly any SciFi is involved in a story announced about a man lost in space. That raises expectations this movie won't satisfy. It takes some patience and some time, like what happened to me, to find out where it is all about.

This movie is a true journey to one's inner core. It may look small in the beggining, but it uses its characters and context in a beautiful and meaningful way. It is realistic and it pushes the boundaries of the basic sci-fi flick in a very cerebral and receptive way.

The cinematography is noteworthy, capturing both the beauty and the harsh realities of Earth. The use of color and light reinforces the film's themes, creating a visual representation of hope and despair. The performances of the ensemble cast are compelling; each actor brings depth to their roles, effectively conveying the emotional weight of their characters' struggles.

The screenplay is rich with dialogue that challenges viewers to reflect on their own lives and the state of the planet. The film touches on themes of environmentalism, connection, and the passage of time, prompting viewers to consider their place in the larger tapestry of life.

The music was a solid 10/10 for me. It is absolutely epic and it's constantly haunting you in a beautiful way, making you totally dissolve in the atmosphere of the movie.

In the end, for the ones who will get it, we are left with a metaphysical and heart warming message about humanity and the real meaning of the life.

Sometimes, watching a movie makes you speechless.

Sometimes, those worlds live on in your mind instead.

This second feature from Jérémy Clapin pushes every single part of the medium further. From the acting, the directing, the music, the sound, everything in this piece works in perfect harmony to create something that is not only gripping and fascinating, but containing profound philosophical questions - and even more troubling answers.

The ticking time bomb of this film hinges on a central idea: what is the value of a life? A trolley problem of sorts engages you in this disturbing question, made even more powerful when turned inwards by the protagonist: i.e., what is the value of MY life?

It's an alien movie that lives in the space in between thoughts, some galaxy between your emotions that make them bounce around expertly, right up to this ending you can't help but fear is coming.

It's an alien movie about life, about death, about grief, about loss, about what is lost and what will never be found again. People in the room with me where crying all the way through, and I caught myself shaking in my seat, feeling queasy by the midpoint.

I have no more words to express how moved I've been by this. It is truly special. Seeing this at Fantasia film festival, it felt like watching a masterpiece before anyone else. GO WATCH THIS MOVIE. It's the best of the year, and it'll be the best I'll see in a long, long time.