SUNDANCE 2014: I, ORIGINS

A scene from I, Origins.

Looks of love, science and creation

By Don Simpson

 

Due to the current lack of concrete evolutionary mapping, the eye is often lauded as proof of intelligent design. So, Ian Gray (Michael Pitt), a PhD student studying molecular biology, is attempting to disprove creationism by fully mapping the evolution of the eye. He is reluctantly teamed with a first year student, Karen (Brit Marling), who quickly dedicates her time to Ian’s cause, agreeing to do the tedious work of looking for the PAX 6 gene — a key gene that enables eyesight — in a species without eyes. It will be like finding a needle in a haystack, but if Karen can locate that species, they can then attempt to mimic the evolutionary process by mutating that creature in such a way that it grows a fully functioning eye. In other words, they want to play god.

 

As a side project, Ian is obsessed with photographing people’s eyes. This is how he comes to meet Sofi (Astrid Berges-Frisbey), a mysteriously masked woman with sectoral heterochromia whom he grows increasingly obsessed with following a fleeting sexcapade on a toilet. Though the scientifically inclined Ian may not believe in fate, it is a string of numerical clues that eventually reconnect him with Sofi. The spiritually motivated Sofi approaches life in sharp contrast to Ian’s overly pragmatic ways. They say that opposites attract, an hypothesis that is proven by the undeniably magnetic chemistry between these two souls — if, unlike Ian, you actually believe in the existence of the soul. Though Ian would ardently disagree, Sofi is undoubtedly his soulmate; and, as the introduction to Mike Cahill’s I Origins prophetically suggests, Sofi also serves as a key element in Ian’s Sophistic quest to dis-prove religion once and for all.

 

Winner of this year's Sloan Award at Sundance, I Origins is an infinitely profound examination of the faith versus science debate. Cahill wraps his heady existential diatribe around the adage that the eye is the window to the soul, specifically utilizing the presumed uniqueness of an individual’s iris patterns in this contemplation of god’s existence. Being that eyes are directly connected to the human brain, and the brain retains memories, I Originssuggests the possibility that if two people (one living, one dead) share identical iris patterns that they may also share memories, possibly even the same soul (thus proving reincarnation). Whether or not this is sound science is up to the molecular scientists in the audience to decide, but Cahill’s entertainingly thoughtful hypothesis is sure to incite a chain reaction of theological contemplation among even the most argent non-believers.

FILM REVIEW: EUROPA REPORT

A scene from Europa Report.

Specs for the future

By Don Simpson

 

For six months, the world watched as the Europa One — a private, multinational venture — ventured into deep space. By the time the mission feed went dead, the Europa One crew had ventured further than human beings have ever traveled away from Earth. Thankfully for us, thousands of hours of recently declassified footage has been edited into a feature length film. Ah, yes, Europa Report is a low budget, sci-fi found footage film, assembled from the Europa One’s many on board cameras that — despite the feed to Earth going dead — continued to monitor everything that happened on the ship.

 

Europa One’s primary mission is to search for signs of life on Jupiter’s fourth largest moon after receiving reports that seemed to suggest the presence of lakes beneath Europa’s frozen surface. As we all know, wherever water has been found, life has also been discovered. The journey to Europa is one of unabashed mundanity, claustrophobic emptiness and psychologically traumatic seclusion. The crew must make a series of difficult yet mathematically calculated choices (the first one being to continue the mission after losing contact with mission command) and sacrifice themselves for the ultimate purpose of history-altering, scientific discoveries. Despite their precision, the crew’s greatest enemies seem to be technical glitches, human errors and the unknown.

 

Director Sebastián Cordero’s Europa Reportexcels in its subtle attention to detail and logical grounding in scientific reality. Though we do not currently have the technology to support human travel to Jupiter’s moons today, Cordero and his production team created a fathomable spaceship for the future. It all makes perfect sense, and when things do go wrong — which of course they do — it never seems unfounded. Even the characters act (and speak) like scientists, not Hollywood action heroes.

 

In the found footage genre, the editing structure and camera angles are two of the most important components to consider in terms of maintaining a high level of realism. I often wonder what the motivation and goal is for the fictional person who accesses and reconstructs the found footage; we never get to meet that person or figure out why they did what they did. For Europa Report, it is overwhelmingly clear that the footage was assembled by a fictional editor who wanted to construct a dramatic film. The seemingly random, non-linear assembly of the footage is meant to derive tension and intrigue, but it ends up muddling the authenticity of the narrative. That said, Cordero’s unflinching dedication to only using authentic camera angles almost makes up for the haphazard editing. The bevy of on board cameras are purposefully placed, both in terms of the logistics of the spaceship but also in the framing of the narrative. When the static camera angles seem too boring, Cordero is able to cut away to the confessional handheld video cameras operated by the crew. So, even with its budget restraints and found footage techniques, Europa Report is a visually intriguing film that is also quite profound.