The following non-exhaustive list is comprised of 10 films that capture the allure and richness of the subgenre. The stunning and innovative arthouse sci-fi subgenre illustrates how sci-fi doesn’t have to depend on scientific and rational explanations, CGI, and common storytelling structures to render otherworldly, captivating films. I intend to highlight films which haven’t penetrated the mainstream consciousness like 2001 or Blade Runner - or any major sci-fi blockbuster - but nonetheless exemplify the more bizarre and resonate dimensions of sci-fi. Regardless of their status as arthouse or conventional Hollywood films, the films occupy a ubiquitous place in pop culture. Blade Runner, meanwhile, explores existentialist themes. 2001 rejects a digestible, linear narrative, deploys abstract imagery, and exerts ambiguous metaphors. To some, beloved films like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner constitute arthouse sci-fi, even with their massive budgets and wide releases. More critically, they juxtapose these normative conceptions of sci-fi with philosophical themes, enigmatic plots, and a slow pace. Andrei Tarkovsky, Lars von Trier, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and others incorporate common sci-fi tropes like dystopian settings, virtual reality, mutations, and time travel into their films. Arthouse sci-fi films don’t generate the same level of modern and public recognition as, say, The Matrix, but they illuminate sci-fi’s transcending of its own conventions and entrance into the realm of experimental film. I love these sci-fi works in all of their decadence, campy dialogue, and visual excess, but it’s important to note the existence of an entire sci-fi subgenre - arthouse sci-fi. These charming canonical works captivate us they remain valuable artifacts of film history they have inspired countless of filmmakers to make equally entertaining and ambitious movies. We often associate science fiction with crowd-pleasing Hollywood blockbusters like Star Wars, ET, Inception, and Alien - big-budgeted films with gripping characters, a breathless pace, jam-packed action, and extravagant special effects. ![]() Some are made on a budget of 160 million dollars, others $7000. Some celebrate scientific and technological breakthroughs, others offer a nihilistic worldview on mankind. ![]() Some sci-fi works feature time travel, others dystopian settings. The genre comprises of hundreds - if not thousands - of films, which vary in style, themes, and scope. © 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc.Over the years, sci-fi has become one of cinema’s most nebulous terms. Along with its generally fine cast and some well-choreographed fights, that goes a long way to making the movie watchable – despite its underlying stupidity. Nevertheless, the best thing about “Equilibrium” is its impressive look. ![]() The iconography of this society deliberately evokes Nazi Germany – the metropolis of Libria is covered in posters of “father” and his swastika-like symbol. When Preston’s partner, Partridge (Bean), is tempted into “sense crime” by a book of poetry he finds, and when Preston himself accidentally misses a dose of prozium, he begins to feel things. The premise is that after a third world war, a dictator called “Father” (Sean Pertwee) sets up a society called Libria in which emotion – along with art and books – is forbidden, because strong feeling is what leads to war.Īt the same time, the population is being dosed with the emotion-suppressing drug “prozium” (geddit?) and policed by warrior monks led by John Preston (Bale), a genius at the “gun-kata” martial art. The whole concept has the feel of an expensive but especially vulgar “Star Trek” episode from the mid-’60s. Otherwise, the most interesting thing about this illiterate, often inert sci-fi action thriller is that a film so crudely conceived could attract such a fine cast.įor whatever sinister Hollywood force compelled Christian Bale (in his second bad post-apocalyptic thriller this year, after “Reign of Fire”), Sean Bean, Taye Diggs and Emily Watson to take part in this project is at least as frightening as the dystopian society that writer-director Kurt Wimmer has constructed out of incompatible bits of “Brave New World,” “1984” and “Fahrenheit 451.” It features a cool-looking new martial art, combining automatic pistols and tae kwon do moves, and an impressive scene in which a completely dark room is lit only by the muzzle flashes of a gun battle. THERE are almost always clever or innovative things to be found even in bad B-movie, science-fiction flicks, and the dreadfully titled “Equilibrium” is no exception. At the Kips Bay, the E Walk, the Village East, others.
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