Sometimes a Good Notion

New & Notable: C 299,792 Km/s

With Star Wars being handed to JJ Abrams, Science Fiction moves forward into the new century with huge fanfare.  In this environment the arrival of C 299,792 Kilometers Per Second, which harkens back to the days when filmmakers actually built things, feels quite refreshing.

The story is nothing new and the script could have used a few more drafts.  Many more drafts…  Most of the lines are undeliverable and the set ups feel awkward.  The relationships are underdeveloped, the acting is stiff, and the situations forced. No amount of retro can save this film from its story.   However, the work directors Derek Van Gorder and Otto Stockmeier do here in creating the visuals is outstanding. 

The film will make waves on the internet because it is strangely innovative.   The filmmakers describe the creative process as follows:

To build the future, we looked to the past. No CGI or greenscreen was used in the making of the film; all our sets and props were built by hand and filmed in-camera. Combining new advances in digital camera technology with traditional special effects, we sought to create a unique, timeless look through lighting design, camera tricks, miniature photography, split-screen, and stop-animation. We believe that this approach allowed us greater creative possibilities on a low-budget science-fiction film.

The world they have created looks and feels tangible and is reminiscent of early science fiction films. It is also beautiful.  They have taken advantage of digital technology to create exquisitely sharp and realistic images and they have paid great attention to basic cinematic techniques that further help create the world.  Cinematography and sound design are at their best here. There isn’t a frame that fails to use lighting and hue to create mood or a second where the humming of machinery doesn’t influence the work  in the same way. Technique enhances the sense of here and now and never feels over done or pompous. If they had paid as much attention to the script then C 299,792 Kilometers Per Second could have been much more than an aesthetic piece.

Intriguing as well, is that the narrative is intercut with a film within a film.  A documentary, titled Beyond the Infinite,  tracks human progress and provides us with the reasons  humanity must take to space.   Beyond the Infinite, also has its own retro feel which is used to enhance the aesthetic feel of the film.  Shot in 16MM, its first frames throw us back to 70’s New Age science fiction documentaries and serve as a reminder of a golden age of a genre that we seem to be quickly leaving behind.