Stranded

I originally rented this movie as something to watch while my mom and sister watched "Must Love Dogs" in the other room. Within ten minutes I found myself preferring the chick flick. The opening scene of the movie was all I needed to realize I had just wasted five and a half bucks. The film begins with a newscast in which a reporter sets the scene for the rest of the film. A good idea, right? Except that the reporter delivers in a deadpan. He says, "This is a historic moment" in a voice you'd probably expect to hear in a lecture on earwax. The rest of the movie follows this pattern to the point where I wanted to throttle the lead actress while screaming, "Have you even READ the script?" In short, I've seen beer commercials with better acting, better writing, better special effects, and better story lines.

I wish there were more science-fiction films like this one being made today.

I can't understand all the negativity towards this flick! Here's a modest little film that doesn't depend on huge special effects and gratuitous action sequences in order to tell a cracking little story, with enough twists and turns to keep an old sci-fi fan like myself guessing until the end.

The premise is certainly nothing we haven't had before (think "Mission to Mars", or "Robinson Crusoe on Mars"), but this particular storyline was dense and well paced, no loose ends, everything for a purpose.

The other aspect of the movie I liked was the atmosphere that it managed to build through, what I think, are all the things that people have criticized it for.

It had a sense of calm, other-worldliness, to which the non-US accents, and at times off-beat delivery by some of the actors contributed. The dialog is more naturalistic than in a big-budget Hollywood action sci-fi flick, and this may be why some people found it "weird".

Some of the dialog was a bit corny, but I think deliberately - a little tip of the hat to earlier tales of that ilk (one of the characters conspicuously starts quoting from "John Carter of Mars" at one point, and we feel we're in an entirely different movie for a moment)

The sedate narration from the main actress, the gorgeous locations shots, and even the interior of the Martian complex with its mysterious technology, all contributed to a dream-like and alien quality invoked by this movie.

Great fun!

Rating - 10 out of 10.

My experience of this movie was mostly one of regret and longing for what it could, with minor improvements, have been, tempered with respect for what I believe its creators were trying to accomplish – in the words of its own website "…to excite audiences with a story that will seem credible and dramatic…".

To do this, they appear to have made, and succeeded in, and effort to avoid practically every sci-fi action cliché. This movie is essentially documentary in form, distinct from a true documentary in that it describes purely fictional events and people. On one level, this is refreshing, on another, tedious, but on any level, it is not cliché.

To succeed with this approach, however, a film's realism, with all the details that go into it, must be virtually flawless, so that well-science-informed viewers – who are likely to be the only people audience to fully appreciate and enjoy such a film – do not have their suspension of disbelief abused by such impossibilities as space helmets with visible gaps in their supposedly airtight seals, etc. Failure of such critical details effectively ruins the film beyond redemption, even if it succeeds brilliantly in other areas, such as the rendering of a convincing-looking Martian landscape.

Another area it can fail is if some or all of the characters fail to behave according to the well-informed viewers' expectations of how well-trained astronauts – or the viewers themselves - would behave. Though the interaction of the characters in "Stranded" seems genuine and realistic on occasion, it often doesn't, and, upon discovering the incredible, these supposed scientists and adventurers seem devoid of even normal curiosity. The only line of characterization that consistently feels real is the awe they feel at the beauty of the Martian surface and sky, despite the lethality these threaten.

I believe that the right technical consultant could have made this movie a classic on a par with "2001: A Space Odyssey" – while clearly made on a tighter budget, "Stranded" avoids the confusing metaphysical finale that many feels marred "2001". As it stands, I expect this movie will be lost and forgotten in the worlds discount DVD bins with barely a ripple in science fiction fandom. Even with its inevitable movie channel rotation, I will be surprised if it gathers 1,000 votes on IMDb.

Photos of Mars show canals, rock formations resembling a human face, immense valleys, and weird designs. So, Earthlings (who are all from Spain, which is coincidentally where the film was made) send a group of explorers to see just what it all means, if anything. From the title, it's pretty obvious what happens to these pioneers, when they arrive at the Red Planet.

More of the film seems to occupy itself with character study than a study of Mars. There's a lot of arguing between the marooned crew members, until your ears start to bleed. Luka says three must die, which makes everybody mad, for some reason. As annoying as he is on that issue, his request of a fellow astronaut will prove this clown a total schmuck. One of the funniest lines is Dr. Jenny's rebuke to this gloomy Eeyore goof ball. Just as you've had enough of the mono tonal banter of that "genius" Luka to choke on, the film finally concerns itself with exploring Mars.

The imagery inside the spacecraft isn't bad, and the acting is decent enough. The exteriors seem based on the then recent photography from the Martian surface, and are pretty impressive: an endless desert imbued with a red hue. As the explorers embark on what will probably be a suicide walk, things start to perk up and get interesting. After diverting from a space exploration story to a survival story, the film makes a welcome return to the spirit of wonder that the mysterious Martian world offers. What the astronauts encounter poses more questions than it answers. This is the essential sci-fi approach, and it works fairly well in this film.

This movie may have gotten overlooked in the shuffle of movies about Mars that came out around the same time. It may not have had a budget equal to some of the others, but it stands on its own pretty well. Not a bad way to spend a rainy afternoon.

It's low budget. It's a Spanish sci-fi. The acting can only be described as wooden, especially by Maria Lidon. The science will not hold up to even cursory scrutiny. So why is "Stranded" so interesting? It's original, that's why. There are no sand monsters, in fact there is nothing to do battle with, except the hopelessness of the crew's situation. The underlying logic drives the film, not c.g.i. and that is why the originality. If you enjoy the thrill of discovery, and the deliberate pace is not going to be a problem, then this is a must see. The Martian landscapes are stunning. Even the ending is no cop out, which adds to the realism that has preceded it. - MERK