After We Leave

I watched this film at the Berlin SciFi film festival and enjoyed it pretty much! It's a slow paced drama, so don't watch it if your brain can't handle something more complicated than "Sharknado". I wish there were more scifi movies like this. Movies that make you think instead of giving you a headache. If something likes this bores you, then maybe you shouldn't watch dramas. Go watch your "Transformers" and "Avengers" crap. I can't believe, people are giving this film 1-star-reviews. No wonder we are getting punished with bull**it like "Rise of Skywalker" or "Star Trek Beyond".

Not a bad premise, but very badly executed. Acting was actually OK so the cast should be happy with their contribution, but the script is all over the place. Some parts simply make no sense (the biggest being the incredibly stupid and frustrating ending) whilst other parts are so ridiculously slow I needed to fast forward to remain even remotely interested.

It's just a bad movie. Not terrible, just bad. Give it a watch if you have nothing else to do, otherwise don't bother.

3/10 for the actor's efforts.

I'm not one to slam new filmmakers, but newb writer, director and producer Aleem Hossain should've had a seasoned screenwriter go over his script.

The premise of the story was decent, but there was too much filler and very little substance. The ridiculously long and unnecessary near-still camera shots got annoying very fast. The plot and technical issues were very evident. Not even taking the slow pacing into account, the lack of substance made this 82 min run-time feel like almost 3 hours. This film needed to be a short, or a 1 hour TV length. What's worse, was Hossain's attempt for a plot twist at the end that was a huge fail, and gave this film that generic dumb ending you see in many cheap b-grade films.

Aside from the long dragged out scenes, Hossain's directing and camera work was ok for a newb, although the few action scenes had terrible choreography and poor camera angles. The cinematography and color choice needed to be much better. Even for a low budget indie film, the sci-fi should've been more apparent than a few CGI moments. Without those, you'd think the timeline was the 1980's. Although the score was quite fitting and impressive for a b-grade film, sadly, the sound was terrible especially during the action sequences e.g. gun fire. The acting was the main highlight of this film.

This film is not anything close to a 10, but certainly undeserving of any 1 and 2's. Cutting some slack for new filmmakers, I'm giving this film a generous 5/10.

This is one for movie-buffs and also for those with a few extra brain cells that have not been desensitized by dumb Hollywood. Although the basic premise is a simple one - futuristic dystopian Earth, run both by big business and small-town mafia, the story actually transcends a Sci-Fi to become more of a human drama and a tough-guy personal story of self-revealing. Though slow-paced there is a sort of genius in the way the screenplay slowly reveals personalities and their histories, like one of the slit-lanterns gradually uncovering the light and truth, with plenty of imagination and nuance, not only towards the audience but also to "solitary John", the central, hard-man character. There were so many opportunities to let violence rip and become cliché - but even this is disciplined and controlled, with some fulfillment in the dramatic conclusion. I'm sure that Aleem Hossain will make it big in future endeavors, provided he sticks to his principles.

Gripping from beginning to end. Intense character drama, beautifully shot and acted, stunning ending. Edge of seat suspense. Highly recommend!