Paraíso

This Netflix movie is a sham, a deceptive package. It pretends to be an interesting socio-critical study of the future in the science fiction genre, however it touches this subject in the first 15 minutes of the movie, then forgets about it. After that it frays into a dull thriller plot, which is poorly executed and rather boring.

The movie is superficial and never ever takes his intended theme seriously, it only exploits it, if even. Basically, it's about a future in which rich people buy the lifetime of poor people (sounds familiar? Justin Timberlake sends his regards "In Time"). Sadly enough, this interesting premise is quickly dropped completely. After all, you could be stepping on the toes of the Netflix shareholders, and you don't want to do that, right? Or even other californian tech-enterpreneurs, who are famous for financing startups that plan to extend human lifespan at an extreme costs (only accessible for the richest of the rich, of course), and are probably friends with Hastings & Co.

No, the rich and the famous time buyers are left untouched. Instead, the film leads into a really dull kidnapping story resulting in a chase, first over land, then over sea, then over land again, finally ending in a dark cold hotel somewhere deep in the Lithuanian forest, where the protagonists then mumble those typical German moral dialogues into their sad faces.

In the final act, the writers finally seem to have run out of ideas: there is a completely pointless shoot-out (action scenes for the trailer, as ordered by Netflix). This is followed by one or two plot twists from your standard guide for beginners in screenwriting, as can be found in your next Walmart store. Twists that have zero coherence with the characters.

The characters follow the plot, not the other way round; they are mere compliant slaves of the plot. How the makers of this mediocre work could actually believe that modern viewers would go along this kind of infantil mockery is a mystery to me.

To sum it up: does anyone remember those DVD/VHS covers of cheap B-Pictures from the 90s, with those funny collages of fiery explosions, muscular heroes with big guns and sexy long-legged girls in high heels? And then you watched the movie, and it was just low-budget garbage of guys with mustaches, fighting each other in stone pits or in the desert, C-grade actors running around to cheap music, with a plot that didn't make any sense? That's "paradise", just with a budget of 10 Million Dollars. A hollow package with a sugar coating.

Soulless entertainment for the low-income masses who can't afford a cinema ticket.

But hey Netflix, wake up: even they will be annoyed and feel ripped off, even they won't recommend their friends to buy a Netflix subscription after this. After all, you stole their lifetime! And they ain't getting it back, unlike the skinny woman in the movie.

When you bought that B-Picture VHS cassette seduced by the cover, your money was gone, the producers had it, said thank you and bought another red or black Chevy Corvette with it, to go for a ride with their pimp friends. That scam worked.

With the subscription system, it won't go down like that. Nobody ain't gonna subscribe nothing 'cos of some fake covers.

This movie had everything to be great. The premise was good, to say the least, the beginning was exciting, the performances committed and the course chosen pointed in the direction of something really prosperous.

In addition, the ethical issues raised by a group called Adam, which violently opposes the shady methods of manipulating the life span of the poor in exchange for money , run by the AEON company, are extremely valid and provide material for a realistic reflection on a possible future that lies ahead of our time. In fact, this discussion would have been the best thing in the movie if the script had gone down this road.

But halfway through the movie the script becomes a seesaw with so many ups and downs. The story loses its breath and becomes a little lame. It improves a little with the reappearance of the terrorist core Adam, adding some action to the lukewarm script, but it falls off again with poor script choices as the film nears its climax.

When personal moral dilemmas that don't quite fit appear out of nowhere, things turn lukewarm again and the movie goes downhill again. And so it goes until the end. It's not bad and keeps the interest, but good wasted characters and an undefined script about where it wants to go, partially spoil what could have been great. In the end, it leaves a slight hook for a possible continuation.

No pun intended - actually one might say puns. But let's not get ahead of ourselves! What is life or a movie if we skip stuff - if we are made to fast forward? Or go back? Time and age wise! There are a lot of questions the movie is asking - very obvious ones (should we sacrifice so called regular folk to enrich our culture with geniuess? Make them live longer?) ... but I would argue that it doesn't really answer them ... it does go off into different directions.

That all being said, this is an intriguing concept ... try not to get hung up on ... well technicalities (again sorry for the pun). This is meant to be ... well meant to be entertainment first, while also giving you food for thought. What would you do? And does every technology benefit the rich? Who can be deemed ... well unnecessary? Isn't every life worth something? Still if someone would want to give away ... there is a whole bag of issues there. One being that person may change their mind ... no backsies I assume.

I like that the filmmakers took a chance and went for it. With Kostja they have a very charismatic lead ... he walks a very line about what he wants, about being a fighter for justice ... and trying to handle what his significant other may want ... all the while playing god of sorts ... there are many twists and turns ... some make more some make less sense ... just suspend your disbelief ...

I think that Germany is a step ahead here in Europe, lots of European production such as the French one or the Italian one are still attached at the old way of doing cinema, such as Nouvelle vague or Neorealism, Germany during these last few years has demonstrated that has a lot to offer, Dark, Kleo, 1989 and now Paradise. It was not a perfect movie, but it was not predictable and it perfectly show how fragile human nature is and how humans way of thinking can change.

The main protagonist really did an amazing job, his character is very well written like the rest of the script. I wouldn't mind if they do a sequel to this movie. If you liked In time, you'll definitely like this one!

This is a German Sci-Fi film based around the premise that scientists have determined a way to not just extend your life, but buy back your youth. The catch is that your time is coming directly from someone who is DNA compatible with you (I.e. Relatives make a good match and certain ethnic backgrounds are underrepresented). The company who has developed this technology is run like a massive biotech that has Apple like meetings where awards like salesperson of the year are awarded...but the real reason people attend is to hear the CEO speak, a Olivia Theissen. The recipient of the best salesperson award is Max, who we follow throughout the film.

In essence the film is almost a de-evolution of Max's beliefs. In the beginning he is very pro-company and really believes in what they are doing in the most altruistic sense, which is part of what makes him a great salesperson...visiting refugees in a refugee camp and convincing young refugees to donate just 5-10 years for the money to help their entire families immigrate. When his doctor wife is forced to give up 40 years after their home is burnt down...he starts to see things from a different perspective. Meanwhile there is an activist group who believes so strongly against this company and it's practices that they are willing to commit violent crimes like murder.

Interesting from a psychological perspective, I enjoyed this German Sci-fi film...not as much as I enjoyed the Dark series, but I did enjoy it. I think sci-fi fans will think it is a worthy watch, so it gets my recommendation.

My review is based on watching it in it's original German language with English subtitles.