The Colony
The post - apocalyptic 2021 sci - fi filmThe Colony , also experience asTides , has potential ; however , the moving picture is plagued by the sorting of fundamental problems that submit a film all devoid of amusement note value . Science fiction can be dry — particularly the more cerebral stories — and there are many ways that a solid premise can go awfully haywire . The Colonyis a prime example of this : the depressing future dystopia is an interesting concept , but the scratchy plotting , developing characters , and deficiency of internal logic make the moving picture unsufferable to love .
Written and directed by Tim Fehlbaum , The Colonyis a German - Swiss action at law - thriller arrange in the future , after a global catastrophe has rendered the major planet inhospitable . Although " elect " members of the human race managed to flee into space and colonise Kepler , mysterious forces finally caused infertility among the settlement . A squad — the Ulysses — was sent to Earth to see whether or not it was secure for re - colonisation . The mission was presumed to have been a failure when the astronauts failed to commit a content back to their hoi polloi . Years later , a second political party — the Ulysses 2 — is sent to Earth to hear again . Nora Arnezeder stars as Blake , a medical expert with Ulysses 2 and the daughter of one of the astronauts from the original missionary work .
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In a ( not so ) surprise twist , Blake and the only other surviving member of her crew , Tucker ( work by Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù ) are lie in wait by humans who survived the apocalypse . Blake is thrilled to discover that these human are procreating — her team had been post to supervise the " fertilization " potential of whatever living is left on Earth , and no doubt they did not expect to find mammals , lease alone human being . Blake befriends the young girl Malia ( Bella Bading ) , and when the baby is kidnapped by Gibson ( Iain Glen ) , Blake decides to help the female parent , Narvik ( Sarah - Sofie Boussnina ) rescue her .
Fehlbaum does an admirable business existence - building inThe Colony , presenting a variation of Earth that is largely immersed underwater and at the mercy of the come up and decrease tide ( hence the original title ) . unluckily , the overall aesthetic used to dramatize the rough , often quaggy , realism of this new Earth is visually unsympathetic . The approach do sense : this is a world mostly innocent of life history , and the hit it up , crumble remains of society are blow up by the homochromatic set and heavy use of fog . The trouble is , however , that the whole movie is like this — even the flashback to Kepler rely heavy on cool tones , fuzzy visuals and overly promising lights . The people of color in every scene all run together like ink on a wet newspaper . This might have been a thematic choice , but in terms of movie house , it ’s neither original enough to be compelling nor spectacular enough to be memorable . At most , the overall impression is flimsy and insubstantial , much like the film itself .
The plot inThe Colonyis convoluted . The movie begins with an uneasy sequence that intercuts a high - stakes , torrid shuttle landing with dumb frame of text ( stylized a bit like still flick intertitles — probably unexpectedly ) that dump a lot of exposition on the interview . But even with the expository information from the claim wit , it ’s never forthwith exonerated what ’s going on , why any of the characters are doing what they ’re doing , or what the stake are . Events occur mainly to specify up later plot of land point ; some contrivances are ok , but the primary story complex body part needs to have an fundamental system of logic . Characters are constantly explain themselves , but even that does n’t serve make the picture less confusing because there ’s no motivation dictate the action , the sequence of events feel random and , at times , extra . In short , The Colonyis more of an musical theme than a story .
The mix of bland visuals with bleak storytelling makesThe Colonyan unpleasant experience . Hardcore fans of the genre may value the narration ’s dedication to the canonical tropes — the " turn " of the original cosmonaut who call on out to be a corrupt megalomaniac , the attempted intimate rape scene , the many , many gibe of a kitschy , gray , exanimate surround , and the unremitting threat of violence . But most audiences will be bored out of their wag . The Colonyutterly fail as a thriller , and , much like the environment the main character finds herself in , is mostly a slog .
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The Colonypremiered at the 71st Berlin International Film Festival and was released in North America by Saban Films on August 27 , 2021 . It is 104 minutes and is grass gas constant for some vehemence .
