Director: Richard Schenkman Year:
2007 Rating: 6.0
This is a peculiar little film
that nearly all takes place in one room with a cast of characters conversing
for the entire film. Not going to be a blockbuster for sure. I don't know
what to make of it. It is loved by a lot of people - 7.8 on IMDB - and lots
of positive reviews. Unlike most films these days, it gets you thinking after
watching it. About what though? The premise is simple enough - a professor
(Dvid Lee Smith) is saying farewell to a group of his fellow academics and
friends - and springs a surprise on them. He tells them he is 14,000 years
old going all the way back to Cro-Magnon man. All the conversations that
follow are a cross-exam of sorts - from disbelief to not so sure to relief.
The script was finished by a man literally on his death bed dictating to
a family member. Obviously, a time when most of us will be thinking of life
and death and the value of life. Will be wondering how it went by so quickly.
What was the point. Who will remember me. That moment when you know you are
about to die. Everything gone. Memories deleted. The idea of living forever
is probably attractive at that moment. The writer, James Bixby, had a solid
reputation as a sci-fi writer with Fantastic Voyage, episodes of Star Trek
and Twilight Zone on his resume.
At the same time though, this script felt
like it was something a few grad students would write some night to show
how smart they were, to burnish their academic reputation and to discuss
the big ideas that we all went through at that age regarding religion, philosophy,
meaning of life, the universe and death. All of this is referenced at some
point in this 90-minute dialogue. One might try and put themselves into this
situation - how would you react if a good friend laid this on you just as
he was leaving - a new place every ten years before people notice that you
are not aging. The group of professors come at it from different angles -
disbelief, anger, concern, love, curiosity - because there is no way to prove
or disprove his statement even with all the details he can provide. Is he
just having fun at their expense, is he crazy, is he telling the truth? I
think the film should have left that question unanswered - but a bit at the
end lets the audience in on the truth. The film was well-received winning
a bunch of awards at films festivals. I may have to check it out again in
the future and watch it from a different perspective.
