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Solum
Portugal 2019
produced by Pedro Morgado, Diogo Morgado for SLX Productions
directed by Diogo Morgado
starring Catarina Mira, Darwin Shaw, Carlos Carvalho, Maria Botelho Moniz, Gonzalo Ramos, Francisco Froes, Luís Lourenço, Anna Ludmilla, Cláudia Semedo, Diogo Morgado, Margarida Serrano, Robert Taylor
written by Pedro Morgado, Diogo Morgado
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
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It sounds like your typical quite silly reality show idea: Eight
contestants - Carol (Catarina Mira), Paul (Darwin Shaw), Liam (Carlos
Carvalho), Sarah (Maria Botelho Moniz), Scott (Gonzalo Ramos), John
(Francisco Froes), Kristoff (Luís Lourenco) and Emma (Anna Ludmilla) -
are marooned on an uninhabitated island, each in their own respective
areas, and are supposed to document their respective strategies for
survival, relying solely on their wits and the one item they were allowed
to bring from civilisation, this item ranging from pickaxe to bow and
arrow to medicine box. Of course, while all contestants are somewhat
equipped for survival, neither of them is a survivalist per se, so they
all face uphill battles - but that said, it's not as bad as it sounds, as
each contestant has a device with a button they can press to be saved off
the island immediately - and lose the game of course, but at least in one
piece. And before long, Sarah needs that button as she has broken her leg
in a silly accident and there's no way she can push on - just the button
doesn't do what it's supposed to but kills her.
Meanwhile, out by the beach, Scott crosses paths with Liam - and Liam
tries to shoot him dead with his bow and arrow, and it's more luck than
design that Scott manages to shake him. He later bumps into Paul and
Carol, who have decided to share their food and fire at least for the
night, but when Scott tells his run-in, Paul just darts off as if he knew
something.
By the by, Scott and Carol find the other contestants, and Paul returns
as well, and soon enough, they're all on the run from Liam. In a
quiet moment, they make Paul talk - but the story he tells is far too
fantastic to be taken even remotely seriously. Thing is, at the same time
his tale would 100% explain the nightmares Carol is having - only they
might not be nightmares, and what our heroes are playing for is more than
just the win in a silly TV show ...
To state the obvious first, yes this movie is reminiscent of
both Battle Royale and in
its resolution also The Matrix, and it also shows sprinkles of The
Most Dangerous Game - and all of this actually makes for a pretty
good thriller. Now admittedly though the resolution is a bit silly and the
enviromentalist message hammered home a little too bluntly, but that
hardly matters as the film much more relies on tension and action than its
third act reveal, and in those departments it does very well, also helped
by dynamic camerawork and truly amazing backdrops used to fullest effect.
And of course, investing some effort to draw interesting characters
brought to life by a competent cast also helps making this pretty cool
genre entertainment.
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