Órbita 9

Firstly, do not watch the trailer. Its spoils a plottwist, the movie isnt really about this plottwist, but its still a shame.

I would like to say, that Im very very impressed with the visuals and photography of this movie given the tiny budget. Bravo! The acting is also good as well as the story. It gives some light Ex-machina, HER, and MOON vibe's story wise. And the 3%, vibe's filmography wise.

There are however some very weird decisions made by the characters halfway trough the movie. Which cause problems which could have been avoided if the characters would have just communicated. Its like they did not know how to further the plot, and just decided to make someone do something stupid for no reason whatsoever a few times in a row. I personally find this very jarring.

There are also some weird actions which seem to not fit the character or institutions taking them. Im still figuring out why.

These 2 issues are however small blemishes on an otherwise great movie.

The beautiful Clara Lago is on her way from a ruined Earth to Celeste, and awakes in her space- pod to find someone docking - the first living person she'll meet apart from her deceased parents. But the handsome engineer who visits to fix her oxygen is offhand, even though he kisses her... You can see the first of the twists coming (it's in the trailer) but some of the others are nicely handled. This low-key futuristic Spanish-made adventure has some good ideas, a pleasing score and cool visuals, but the director could have made more of the story's tragic implications.

Twenty minutes in, there is a twist that was kind of obvious. Without spoiling it, it is something that has been done before with various degrees of success, but never caught on. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't move too far from this point on and doesn't bring anything new to the table regarding this particular subgenre. Clara Lago is really beautiful, but there is nothing she could have done to improve on the story. In the end, it feels like a way too long anthology series episode, one idea that has not really taken off as a full movie. The film is well done, the acting is good, my only problem is the simplicity of the plot.

'ORBITER 9': Four Stars (Out of Five)

A Spanish science fiction romance about a young woman who's spent her whole life in a space pod, and learns that the reality she's always known is a lie. The film was directed and written by Hatem Khraiche (in his feature film directorial debut). It stars Clara Lago, Álex González, Andrés Parra and Belén Rueda. I found it to be interesting and effectively involving as well.

Helena (Lago) is a young woman who's spent her entire life (since birth) on a space pod sent from Earth to a distant planet. Once there she's told she'll meet other people and have a normal life. Her only communication has been with the ship's onboard computer. That is until a repairman, named Alex (González), arrives on the pod to make needed repairs to it. Helena immediately falls in love with him, having been the only person she's ever met, and Alex feels strong emotions for her as well. That's why he's compelled to tell her the truth, which will expose to Helena that nothing she's believed about her entire reality is true.

The movie proposes great questions about what the greater good is, morally, and how much is an acceptable cost to achieve it. Although the story feels a little reminiscent of other classic sci-fi tales, it still seems mostly fresh and original. The actors all give decent performances in it, and the visuals are beautifully shot as well. The film succeeds at pretty much everything it sets out to do. Still I didn't love it, but I have no real complaints about it either.

Great concept, but it wasn't explored as fully as it could have been. The twist was revealed too soon, given how predictable the ending was. I personally would have liked to see more focus on the moral/ethical consequences/repercussions, then it could have really found its niche.