The Silent Planet

I just finished watching The silent planet 15 minutes ago. Don't let the low rating at the moment here on imdb stop you from watching this great little film . I didn't know much about it , just that the wonderful actor Elias Koteas was in it . Any movie with Elias in it can't be bad as the man always gives his all and boy did he here again aswell . The slow pace build-up , the mystery , flashbacks of this film actually reminded me of his earlier work with director Atom Egoyan ( Exotica , The adjuster )even if this takes place on another planet . The director here is Jeffrey St-Jules , it's his first film I've seen but I'm definitely a fan now and will check out his previous work and can't wait for his next project . Equally as good performance as Koteas is co star Briana Middleton , man she's good in this ! As a composer for film myself I noticed a terrific score by Daren Fung , wonderful atmospheric , dramatic and emotional music . I'm absolutely sure this movie will get the praise it deserves as time goes by . Some of the best films ever started with a struggle. As a matter a fact , almost all are. A couple of times I shed a tear , it got very emotional at times , also laughed out loud too as the film sure isn't without some humour. I enjoyed this great film emencely and I'm sure will watch it many more times ! 10/10 .

This film is cerebral and character-driven, which is a type of sci-fi I like if I'm in the mood. Think Solaris or Moon. It's about solitude, memory and the all-too-human desire for revenge. It's interesting to see veteran actor Elias Koteas work with the much younger Briana Middleton, who totally holds her own playing opposite him.

It has issues though. The narrative is a bit muddled, leaving several things unexplained. The ending doesn't have the emotional impact it might have done. Also the flashbacks to Earth feel less realistic than the depiction of the prison planet. This was possibly the director's intention, though I found myself wanting to get back to the planet every time a flashback came along.

Overall I enjoyed the film's mournful, downbeat tone.

It's pretty hard to enter the movie, it's confused, but slowly the answers appear and the movie really take place.

The music/sound design is good, no real music, but that the title of the movie.

The photography is nice, nothing fancy.

Some element are cheap : the scenery, I never feel on another planet, more in a desert country. Same for the props wheelbarrow and the helmet, it's just some basic stuff.. Lot of thing are unexplained, like the source of food etc.. same for the behavior of the character, sometimes they act like nobody else will do... The cgi is ok, there is not a lot which is good.

The actors are good too.

Don't expect an action movie, there is an hidden enemy, but it's a psychological thriller that what it is.

Its not that it is bad, but there is so little surprise or interest or statements to justify a 90 minute run time. It is more like a 15 minute short story stretched out, but that wouldn't work as the characters need space to deliver whatever this is.

Admittedly I watched all of it and was not bored, so the actors were solid and managed to carry the film, but they had so little to work with,

The Scifi element is very minor just enough to create the situation. It is not about special effects, though the aliens did make me laugh, as it was a flashback I am not sure if they are supposed to be symbolic or an actual experience.

And am not even sure what the film is trying to say, I suppose it is a character driven exploration of relationships.

I have this thing where I want to like Canadian movies, because, well... yea, we CAN make great movies. But I'll be really honest that I don't see a point in watching this movie.

Actors - good job.

Visually very nice - nice effects, nice lights, some cool visuals, and that nice Labrador nature.

The plot - okay, so the scriptwriter liked Solaris and wanted to make something similar. Fair enough, but... Maybe a bit more originality would have been nice?

So you have a low budget, you get few characters... here, their backstories are just so unoriginal. Been seen a million times. The only aspect I liked was - but this might just be my own interpretation, looking for something good - the idea of peoples' identities and thoughts mixing in "the alien fog". It could have been developed way more, and exploited way better.

In general this movie just lacks originality, plot, zest, character motivation... what the characters do felt, at every corner, not as actual character buildup, but some "I need the character to do this just to have more plot. It could have had less "play-action", and just more thought, more atmosphere. The play-action, lame action, just ruined the atmosphere, and made the characters bland.

All in all... even with the whole crew having done a good job, I just don't see any reason for this movie.