Alien Visitor

Simplistic, pragmatic, tedious and unforgiveably boring. It's very difficult to make a good movie out of a conversation - which is really all this is. I kept waiting for there to be some real action. Never happened. Don't even bother with this one unless you like pretty scenery and nothing else.

The basic vision of this movie struck me -- and still strikes me -- as an excellent starting point. The cinematography is marvelous and the devotion to environmental and societal questions is admirable. Even without any answers, the importance of the questions the film highlights gives it validity. Unfortunately, the writing and direction left huge holes in the logical development of "She" as an alien character. "The Man" is required to fulfill each of "She's" requirements in thought pattern and relationship development. Unfortunately "She" violates every premise she, herself, dictates. Even "The Man's" most notable leaps in understanding are insulted and demeaned by the alien visitor. When "She" stoops beneath the level of Earth human cruelty by destroying "The Man's" favorite tree (with which he had "shared blood") every supposed superiority of the proposed advanced galactic peoples is totally eradicated. The lesson seems to be that trying to communicate with a less developed individual will destroy your own more delicate feelings and understandings. What could have been a thought provoking challenge to our society wound up being a cheap grouping of pot-shots taken at civilization by childish, dissatisfied, spoiled whiners.

This a movie which needs the story to carry itself: the scenery is nice but there is nothing much else to be seen. The story touches on a number of important social subjects such as protecting the environment and tolerance between cultures as well as SF subjects such as time-travel and alien visitors. Unfortunately it does not deliver on any of these subjects. It points out problems but never hints at any solution. And how do the aliens solve these problems? Well, they have a superior intellect and solve everything through their mind: time and space travel, energy production and everything else you can think of. I do not expect the makers to have all the answers, but just summoning up things which are wrong does not validate this movie.

The beginning was promising, but I ended up being disappointed in the end

The film is a mix of things that shouldn't work but many do. Despite it's unity of style--virtually every scene is shot exactly the same way, the two leads are so good and work so well together that the fact it's a talkfest kinda' doesn't matter, and the fact that it's best element is the relationships/love that develops between sexy alien and dorky earth man builds an emotional pull probably because it's all a film about the two of them. Each actor is well cast and couldn't be better, she seems convincingly superior and times, he seems doltish but later quite handsome and rather deep==these attributes being displayed at the perfect moments. We never learn the names of either character in the film--a device that works. The film is full of devices, some pretty distracting.

The film is very much like a stage play, even a planetarium show, only the multiple locations and constant time-lapsing make it purely a movie at the same time. The style is unique enough to work much of the time.

Being science fiction, it will naturally draw some smart ass retorts and deserves some of them, but the film is about differing world views, the details of those worlds may be wrong at times, but it's really just a framework, you can almost say it's about the differences between men and women and how they can work for and against each other.

What fails is the filmmakers "hug a tree/save the earth" message. For a film that becomes so much about two people's relationship to then try to jump the a broad view "issue" it's trying to sell fails. It has to. Stories are at their best when we relate specifically to individuals, not when they try to boil down individuals into groups and causes.

The framing device of the movie of the whole story being told round a campfire to two kids leads to a clunky final scene selling the tree hugger message. Now don't get me wrong I'm all for tree hugging but it's like having too much candy all at once. Even the right message and idea can be delivered in the wrong way.

Again though this is a big though minor problem compared to what the two actors do and the parts they play. The film credits them and the crew with coming up with additional script material--a rare credit to see from a writer director.

At times fascinating and moving at less times a bit the same and ham handed in it's message. Still worth a look and memorable. Good music score helps too.

Film has full frontal female nudity right at the start, rather than in a key love scene later, it feels like a commercial decision to do it this way.

It's no surprise that this movie never had any theatre play in my neck of the woods. No CGI, no explosions, no "action", just plenty of hard-hitting dialogue and a story about overcoming denial and making good decisions.

"Alien Visitor" is a simple tale about how a good natured fellow has his worldview transformed by a woman from another star system. Like most of us, he is aware of Earth's environmental and social problems, but refuses to take any personal responsibility for them, and does his best to ignore the issues altogether. "She" is disgusted by this "Earth mentality", and ruthlessly and repeatedly forces him to face the truth and his own complicity in the planet's destruction.

The movie is primarily a morality tale, and one that should be mandatory viewing in my opinion--the issues are too important to be ignored. But it is also an impressive look at other little concepts, like the stubborn human psyche, or how relationships mean more than anything else. It shows us how difficult it is to shift long-held viewpoints, even with irrefutable evidence, and how it is often love that helps us finally accept ideas that are otherwise too agonizing. Finally, it shows us that we do at least have the power to change ourselves for the better if me just make the effort.

For all this, and that fact that it's all done without a major budget, I give "Alien Visitor" an 8/10.