8th Wonderland

I too was one of the unfortunate few people who had to suffer through this "movie", during a sneak preview night. Well at least the first 30-45 minutes of it, because that was when me and my mate left.

I just can comment on the production value and the crafting, because until the moment I left I still had no idea what was going on in this movie. I only learned what it was actually about after skimming through the plot on the internet. Apparently some intellectuals try to make the world a better place. Watching the first 30 minutes it never occurred to me, that I was watching a bunch of intellectuals. It looked more like a bunch of students and stereotype bad guys. None of the actors left any impression what so ever on me or stood out. They all seemed pretty generic and replaceable.

The production value appeared to be pretty low in general. Some scenes looked like they were shot in the actual living rooms of the "actors". Whole scenes looked like they were taken directly from youtube. At least they had the look and feel of some youtube videos. Some scenes were set in some kind of fancy chat room, that looked like an out-of-box after effects effect. In those scenes all they chat room participants were projected in a circle of screens, surrounded by some matrix-esqe code bits flying by. Compared to the broader spectrum of films those effects were pretty bad, but in this movie they actually looked neat compared to the rest.

Do yourself a favor and skip this movie.

From what I had heard and seen, I was expecting a good idea wrapped in low production values ruined by poor acting and realisation. I was more than pleasantly surprised. The film was so well told and the story so engaging that the low production values didn't matter. The acting was good enough to not distract me from the story. I wasn't bored once, it was a compelling and entertaining experience.

People here complain the discussions were tiring. Ever been to a grass-roots democratic plenum where a bunch of people tried to come to a decision by talking about it? Those real-life discussions are tiring, really tiring. Compared to them, the discussions in the movie are breezy while still very true to what grass-roots democracy can sound and feel like.

Yes, certain elements of the story may seem naive or simplistic. And yes, it's a very talkative movie. If you are easily annoyed or bored by lots of talking, than this is probably not the movie for you.

I would really recommend it to everyone else though for its unique idea and storytelling.

Due to a full sneak preview we bought tickets for Knight and Day but thought, let's sit on the floor and take a look what's coming at sneak preview. The first minutes were strange but promising for a movie to think about. After ten minutes we preferred to remain on the floor to watch this great movie. It sure wasn't an expensive production, but who needs that? The two directors did an immense great job with that idea. It has infectious ideas for freedom, democracy, the wish to make things better and sure, if it played in Hollywood with reaching the right amount of people, the potential to change things. But nevertheless there are a few contradictory parts. No brain-roasting Hollywood shi*, great movie to see, going to watch it witch my girlfriend again at premiere in Germany!

This movie, directed by the two fairly inexperienced but obviously over-ambitious and talented French filmmakers Nicolas Alberny & Jean Mach, quite possibly has the most original and avant-garde screenplay that I've seen in many years. It's also another proof that you don't need a lot of money in order to make a film that is captivating and groundbreaking. "8th Wonderland" clearly cost next to nothing, but witty satirical ideas and superbly drawn characterizations don't require a large budget; just an intelligent and versatile crew and an enthusiast ensemble cast. The concept of "8th Wonderland" is simultaneously simple and genius. The title refers to the very first virtual nation in which people of all nationalities, religions and cultures unite in chat rooms to debate and vote on how they could improve ruling the outside world. And this time the members – citizens, if you will – of 8th Wonderland aren't loud-mouthed geeks hiding safely behind their computers, but devoted and resourceful academics that put their words into deeds as well. On a weekly basis, the citizens of 8th Wonderland democratically vote on an initiative during a referendum and subsequently appoint someone to execute the agreed actions. Whether it concerns placing condom vending machines in the Vatican, abduct world class soccer players to have them fabricate their own shoes amidst child laborers or boycotting the nuclear energy negotiations between Russia and Iran, the initiatives of "8th Wonderland" always make the world press and the virtual nation becomes immeasurably popular very fast. Parallel with the success, inevitably the first obstacles and issues arise as well. Frauds declaring themselves the mastermind behind 8th Wonderland, the safeguarding of loyal members after they risked their lives, dealing with the public opinion in case of false advertising or unpopular initiatives or feeling the burning breath of hunting FBI services in their neck. "8th Wonderland" definitely isn't an adrenalin-rushing thriller (most of the time it's just people talking straight into the camera, like they are in chat rooms) but it's nevertheless a compelling and politically engaging cinematic experiment that deserves all the praise and recommendation it can get! The characters are identifiable, the depiction of the media and public opinions are accurate and precise and the dialogs are stupendously written. Some of the discussed initiatives of the 8th Wonderland committee appear to be far-fetched and impossible to carry out, but there's always a logical clarification of what they do and a plausible breakdown of how they do it. The credibility of "8th Wonderland" largely relies on small but important and punctilious details, like for example the chatters occasionally mixing in words and swearing of their own native language, authentic news bulletin images and reports and members deciding to leave the group out of fear for retribution. The ensemble cast is marvelous and the computer engineered effects (for example, the illustration of a virtual chatting circle) are reasonably impressive; especially for computer illiterates like myself. Recommended in case you're on the lookout for something entirely new, refreshing and creative.

After reading the divergent opinions about this movie I realized I had to see it for myself in order to know if it's a waste of time or the opposite.

My conclusion had to be: it is not.

Although I can imagine people describing the plot as unlikely, I wouldn't consider it unrealistic. The movie itself is more of a case-study of a certain chain of events, showing different aspects and effects. I would definitely say it was interesting and appropriate for expressing an idea: that technology will certainly change the shape of future life.