Jerome Bixby's The Man from Earth (2007)

Back to basics, and what a great trip

Other reviewers have said it, and I must echo their comments. "The Man From Earth" is an inspiring return to the roots of filmed science fiction. I'm talking about the kind of science fiction associated with the likes of Rod Serling, Ray Bradbury, Gene Roddenberry, and Robert Wise. I mention them (2 writers, 1 producer and 1 director) because they are all connected with the old school - possibly the Golden Age - of sci-fi movies and television. And I have no doubt that they would love "The Man From Earth."

If you enjoy science fiction because of space battles, creepy aliens, vivid alternate realities and mind-boggling depictions of our future, then maybe you should skip this movie. It has none of that. It doesn't even offer the visual variety of an average drama. Instead, this movie is like a long Twilight Zone episode, circa 1962. It takes place in one house, on a single night. For 90 minutes, we simply see eight characters wrestling with an impossible question, and it is their dialogue that makes the movie so compelling. This is the science fiction of ideas (as all the best science fiction is). It offers no visual frills, no distractions, no "Wow Factor." It's like a meal consisting of perfect ingredients, perfectly cooked. When the basics are this good, you don't need any seasoning.

Don't get me wrong. I loved Alien, Blade Runner, The Matrix, Close Encounters, all the sci-fi classics. But this movie has a different sort of appeal. Watching it, I did have a certain advantage: I knew nothing about it. The movie was recommended by a friend, and that's all I needed to know. And I'm glad I saw it with no expectations. Within the first 5 minutes, I realized I wasn't going to see any special effects, or be swept into the future. So I just hunkered down and paid attention. And I was so sucked in by this film, so moved by the narrative, that as soon as it was over I watched it a second time.

In the interests of being fair and balanced, I'll point out some negatives. This movie was shot with very inexpensive equipment and a very small budget, and it shows. Some shots are underexposed and grainy. Production design is virtually non-existent. But weighed against its strengths, these factors are so minor that I've given the film five stars anyway.

Today, in an age when literally any image and any situation can be created digitally, with perfect realism, we so desperately need movies like this. We need movies that get back to basics. I hope "The Man From Earth" inspires other film makers to create comparable work, movies that sweep us up with their ideas without relying on eye candy. It's certainly inspired me. July 19, 2008

Thinking Inside The Box

The review title is because 98% of this film takes place inside a single room in a desert hunting lodge, over the course of half a day, where a group of academics gather and intellectualise on aspects of earth's history having just been presented with the news that one of their number, who is about to leave them, is 140 centuries old (this movie won't set your pulse racing).

The first question this begs is; why bother going 'on location'? A decent studio set would have offered enhanced filming opportunities, better camera angles etc. (At the very least, the actors wouldn't have complained about the lack of facilities afterwards!)

The film starts slowly and somewhat awkwardly. It could have become engrossing but even though it stars some familiar faces, the acting doesn't really get into a decent flow, until towards the end. It stays fairly subdued - this in large part is due to the flaky script which, at times is lucid and strong, but for the most part yearns for more creative writers with a better grasp of history. An injection of humour to create warmth or greater depth of character would have helped this film enormously.

In Amazon's synopsis of this "low budget" (the director's words) movie, it describes this as a "thought-provoking Sci-Fi drama." Well, that's a little too generous; it is at times thought provoking, but there's precious little drama, and absolutely no Sci-Fi in the standard sense. In the accompanying material, great homage is paid to Star Trek - a modern classic - but the presentation of this storyline is not of that calibre; it's too self-absorbed for that.

Therefore, in order to watch this successfully, you need to be in a reflective, or contemplative, or meditative mood - there's only dialogue, virtually no action; just ONE group of people sitting or pacing (the action) in ONE room talking hypothetics within the course of ONE day - like I said, not pulse racing stuff.

Whether deliberately or not, the film takes on a heavily anti-Christian stance, though I can't say the reason why without revealing a key plot line, but suffice to say it distorts Bible history immensely (both Old and New Testaments - whilst at the same time debunking early Jewish and Muslim culture too) in order to present an alternative, revisionist view of history.

Indeed, I found the 4 special features, each of which were only a few minutes long, more interesting than the film itself; 1. On The Set. 2. The Story Of The Story. 3. Jerome Bixby's Sci-Fi Legacy. 4. From Script To Screen. Sadly, these were each too short.

Overall, with too many perfunctory ideas bandied about, conveniently unquestioned gaps in the story and unchallenged facts (even when 'arguing' the characters reinforced each other rather than any in-depth critiquing), this film left me feeling unfulfilled, as it may well do for anyone who likes to analyse 'thought-provoking' material beyond more than just the novelty of its surface.

Unlike movies such as M. Night Shyamalan's 6th Sense as one example, this film won't stand up to a second viewing, it's loosely woven story would unravel too easily, as it's already doing for me (although I do find the idea of humans living for eternity, intriguing... although not new).

If you get satisfied by Dan Brown style theories, this might be up your street.

June 23, 2008

Excellent writing and good acting and directing...

If popular Science Fiction (Aliens, Terminator, Star Wars, etc) is the pizza and hot dogs in a science fiction diet, The Man From Earth is an example of broccoli and spinach. But it is spinach prepared as only the best chefs in the world can do it. An excellent script by Star Trek/Twilight Zone scribe Jerome Bixby and some good work by the actors and director make for a very good film.

This isn't high budget, space chase, laser blasting, alien invading science fiction (the kind that doesn't work 90% of the time). This is thought provoking, philosophical science fiction. This is science fiction that makes you think. Yes it's done on a micro budget. The single setting gives the feeling more of a play than a movie - but that's not a bad thing. And it delves into a lot of philosophical and religious ground making you look at long held beliefs and assumptions from a different angle- and if you approach it with an open mind, it can even make you reconsider a lot of preconceptions.

All the young, ADD, video game junkies giving this one star... well, lets just say that thinking at this level probably makes their brains hurt. I love movies like Aliens and Star Wars as much as the next guy, but I want a little spinach once in a while, too. This movie isn't about big budget FX, laser guns, and aliens. This movie gets to the core of what science fiction is about. June 21, 2008

A great movie

Though rather low-budget in filming style and sound quality it is definitely one of the best movies I have ever seen. A great storyline that will interest the viewer up to the point where he'll be sitting on the edge of his chair for nearly the whole duration of the movie. June 1, 2008

Fantastic and thought provoking Sci-Fi

Firstly, I never knew Jerome Bixby until I Googled him after watching this movie. I found he wrote some of my favourite Star Trek (Original Series) episodes like "Mirror, Mirror" and especially "Requiem for Methusaleh".

Unlike the other reviews I found the acting very good, especially Tony Todd. The way the characters played off each other kept you wanting more. I'm not usually a fan of "one setting" movies but this one was out of the norm.

I'll certainly go hunting for the book to see if it was better than the movie. May 31, 2008

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