Review of Aniara (2019) by Brent_Marchant — 20 Jul 2020

This ambitious existential sci-fi offering, based on a Swedish poem of the same name, makes a valiant attempt at transcending the content, substance and style typically associated with other films of the genre.

However, due to an underdeveloped script, an overreliance on viewer knowledge of the source material, more even pacing and a need for some judicious editing, the picture never quite rises to the greatness it might have been truly capable of.

The film's impeccable production design and special effects and fine performances are augmented by nods to a variety of other sci-fi works, including "Solaris," "Gravity," "Passengers" and "Battlestar Gallactica," as well as allusions to "Midsommar" and various tales of hopelessly adrift seafarers.

Its prolific references to matters religious, spiritual, metaphysical and sociopolitical pepper the story, sometimes effectively, sometimes not so much, resulting in a grab bag of enlightenment, frustration and assorted enigmas.

In an age where our own world is seemingly being turned upside-down, the insights of this story -- had they been better developed -- could have been a godsend to a weary population, providing us all with a new, clearer understanding of where we're at and where we're headed.

But, unfortunately, "Aniara" comes up short of achieving that goal -- and at a time when we could have used it most.