Review of Powder (1995) by Michael K — 05 Aug 2009

In so many ways this is simply an amazing, tragic, and tragically underrated film. At its core it's most aptly characterized as a critique of our prevailing social order, and questions our motivations and subsequent justifications for our cruelty, both to each other and to animals, as is exemplified by the scene in the woods with the deer.

It attempts to perceive humanity objectively through the eyes of a man who, being hyper-evolved, is mostly detached from the interests that drive most of humanity, but yet has enough of an emotional connection and enough of a degree of misunderstanding about himself that he can empathize.

He's not coming from an alien perspective, and yet he's as alienated from his fellow humanity as it's possible to become. Jeff Goldblum as always is simply...beyond comparison.