Cinema is capable of crafting beautiful, compelling visions of possible futures. Many of these don’t become our reality but they can often give clues for our direction of travel. So Unreal, an exploration of tech-centric cinema, offers a concise, sometimes compelling look at the history of these future-scapes. And yet it can’t help but frustrate as it struggles to reach the scope of some of the best examples of this area of sci-fi.
Chronicling two decades of cinema (1981 to 2001), Amanda Kramer’s documentary draws from a wealth of footage, taking in the likes of, naturally, The Matrix (1999), Weird Science (1985), Tron (1982) and eXisTenz (1999), exploring these individual films whilst also weaving them into a greater narrative of the innovation and fear born out of technological innovation. Perhaps the greatest impact So Unreal has is to show visions that have been lost, as we move beyond this area of sci-fi and our vision of what is to come loses much of the originality and personality provided by the best examples.
But as visually impressive as this documentary is, it makes a choice that does the film no benefits. Eschewing talking heads, So Unreal is narrated by Debbie Harry, familiar to fans of Videodrome (1983). Initially this feels like a good choice, but it narrows the film by giving it a singular voice, meaning the film lacks depth and complexity in argument, with the viewer finding their attention wandering during the second half. Cinephiles will devour the films that feed into So Unreal and it is truly a visually stunning work. But the arguments it offers are not as compelling as the film thinks it is, and to give the work a singular voice feels like a missed opportunity to offer nuance and depth.
It is tricky for films that focus on works that have come before to break free of their shadows, and Kramer’s documentary sadly is not one of those. This may be one that’s strictly for science fiction fans, but even they may be frustrated that this is a work that doesn’t go as deep as you may like.
2.5 Screams out of 5
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