Alien Visitor (1995)

I've bought it twice now, so it must have something

When my dvd's were stolen this is one of the movies I rebought, so it does have something worth watching. Whether that's the charm of the movie, dare I say 'quaintness' (you'll understand if you watch the movie), the awesome cinematography of the Australian landscape, the gentle eco message or simply the understated characters I don't know. But its still not a five star movie.

It would be except that certain things keep getting under my skin as I watch it. Chief among them the hypocracy of the message. The woman 'She' comes to Earth and is horrified by the mess we're making of it, fine. But then she comes from a world were people can travel through space and time simply with the power of their minds alone. If we could do that, pollution would be halved overnight. We wouldn't need cars or planes. That's like going back to the stone age and laughing at our ancestors because they have to walk.

She calls us dumb, again fine from her advanced perspective, but then she falls in love with one of us 'thicko's' doesn't seem to understand that we can't get by in our world without cars etc without her mystic powers, our society would actually collapse, and then to top it all off has a childish tantrum on a battered old landrover. Is that really that bright? Especially when the message the film should be trying to get across is not that we're dumb, but that we are blind in part to the damage we do to our world and apathetic in part. If its stupidity that's our problem then we're actually in seriously bad shape, we can always get more environmentally aware, but in the end we will still need new technological advances to solve our problems. Is she dumb for not understanding that?

But the greatest failing this film has for me is in the complete lack of solutions it provides. Call me an ignorant, polluting, eco vandal, I can live with that, but if you're going to do that offer some solutions, solar power, wind power, recycling, and if you're really an alien with super intelligence, how about throwing in a few new ones that we primitives might not have thought of.

Still the movie makes a point and an impact, and thats something. November 10, 2007

Another gem!

Short and to the point...pick this one up. You won't be disappointed. An ECO/scifi movie you say? Yes...and it works. IF you care about our polluted Earth, this movie will touch a cord in you. Nuff said... January 15, 2007

Thoroughly Enjoyable!

This movie is quite original! It's dream-like quality is simply delightful. I thought to myself while watching this film, "imagine what could have been accomplished with a larger budget and a harder edge!" This is a subversive story, one that conservatives will detest. With chests puffed-out they will sing the following chorus: What gives the "right" to an "outsider" to condemn our destruction of the environment and ostracize our way of life? A filmmaker with guts, that's who!

The love affair between two lonely strangers, is shown to be both confusing and inspiring. While one being is obviously an alien with a unique ability to control time & place, she is in some ways, all too human! How ironic!

While message movies are, for the most part, out of vogue. I dearly hope that when they come back in fashion they tackle issues regarding the health of the environment with a vengeance! May 2, 2005

worthless, save for the unintended comedy in pretension

I have long been a fan of the best of Australian movies. So when this was recommmended as Aussie sci-fi, I took a chance. What rot. It is little more than a long commercial for radical environmentalists. I say that as one who loves the outdoors and bemoans urban sprawl that destroys wildlife. But both radical environmentalism, which far too often comes very close to hating the human race (oddly enough, except for the most environmentally destructive and least environmentally aware and concerned peoples: such as Marxists and black Africans and Haitians), and bad, boring, self-indulgent movies are revolting. January 9, 2004

Alien Visitor

This is a thoughtful film, that, in addition to the communication between the man and the woman, uses the beautiful Australian outback to emphasize the message. Yes, it has a strong environmental message, and at the end, an excellent speech is given about man's coming together to fight wars to right perceived wrongs, but as we continue to despoil the earth....we have yet to come together to "fight the war" to right the wrong that is being done to our own habitat: the earth. The photography is great. Makes one want to go to Australia. January 9, 2004

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