Cargo (2009)

In 2270, Earth is completely depleted and no one lives there anymore. Those that have money move to Rhea; but most of the population lives in orbit in space stations. Dr. Laura Portmann ... See full summary »

Directors:

Ivan Engler, Ralph Etter

Writers:

Arnold Bucher (story), Ivan Engler (story),

Stars:

Anna Katharina Schwabroh, Martin Rapold, Regula Grauwiller

2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Anna Katharina Schwabroh	...	Laura Portmann
Martin Rapold	...	Samuel Decker
Regula Grauwiller	...	Anna Lindbergh
Yangzom Brauen	...	Miyuki Yoshida
Pierre Semmler	...	Pierre Lacroix
Claude-Oliver Rudolph	...	Igor Prokoff
Michael Finger	...	Claudio Vespucci
Gilles Tschudi	...	Klaus Bruckner
Maria Boettner	...	Arianne Portmann
Noa Strupler	...	Mädchen
Diego Studer	...	Kind auf Rhea
Vanessa Studer	...	Kind auf Rhea
Christina Tchernychova	...	Rhea TV Spot Modell
Roger Kaufmann	...	Sicherheitspersonal Station 30
Roman Güttinger	...	Sicherheitspersonal Station 30

Storyline

In 2270, Earth is completely depleted and no one lives there anymore. Those that have money move to Rhea; but most of the population lives in orbit in space stations. Dr. Laura Portmann decides to work in the cargo ship Kassandra in an eight year travel to Station 42 that is in orbit of RH278 to raise money to meet her sister Arianne in Rhea. They keep in touch with each other, but their messages take three years to reach the other. Laura joins Captain Pierre Lacroix and his crew composed by the First Officer Anna Lindbergh; Communication Officer Miyuki Yoshida and Igor Prokoff and Claudio Vespucci. The Sky Marshall Samuel Decker joins the team since the terrorist group Luddites, led by Klaus Bruckner, is bombing the stations. Lacroix organizes shifts of eight and half months for each crew-member while the others rest in cryogenic sleep. Three years and eight months later, Laura finds that there is apparently a stowaway in the cargo compartments and Decker and Lacroix are awakened to ...

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Plot Keywords:

tech noir | retro future | computer | simulation | melancholy | 

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Taglines:

Space is cold

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Genres:

Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [ch] (German)

Country:

Switzerland

Language:

German

Release Date:

24 September 2009 (Syria)

Also Known As:

Cargo - Da draußen bist du allein

Filming Locations:

Winterthur, Kanton Zürich, Switzerland

Box Office

Budget:

CHF 4,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Atlantis Pictures, Centauri Media, Schweizerische Radio- und Fernsehgesellschaft (SRG)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

As Dr. Portmann leaves the examination room after tending to Decker's head wound, a THC molecule is clearly seen on a computer screen in the background. Below this is a structure of amphetamine.

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Connections

References Solaris (2002)

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Soundtracks

"A Place She Calls Home"
Written & Performed by William White
Courtesy of William White

User Reviews

Something Is Missing to Be a Great Sci-Fi

In 2270, Earth is completely depleted and no one lives there anymore. Those that have money move to Rhea; but most of the population lives in orbit in space stations. Dr. Laura Portmann (Anna Katharina Schwabroh) decides to work in the cargo ship Kassandra in an eight year travel to Station 42 that is in orbit of RH278 to raise money to meet her sister Arianne (Maria Boettner) in Rhea. They keep in touch with each other, but their messages take three years to reach the other.

Laura joins Captain Pierre Lacroix (Pierre Semmler) and his crew composed by the First Officer Anna Lindbergh (Regula Grauwiller); Communication Officer Miyuki Yoshida (Yangzom Brauen) and Igor Prokoff (Claude-Oliver Rudolph) and Claudio Vespucci (Michael Finger). The Sky Marshall Samuel Decker (Martin Rapold) joins the team since the terrorist group Luddites, led by Klaus Bruckner, is bombing the stations. Lacroix organizes shifts of eight and half months for each crew-member while the others rest in cryogenic sleep.

Three years and eight months later, Laura finds that there is apparently someone in the cargo compartments and Decker and Lacroix are awakened to investigate the incident with her; however, Lacroix has an accident and dies and the crew is waken up. Further, she finds that Arianne's transmission to her took only twenty minutes. What might be the secret of the cargo transported by Kassandra and where the spaceship is going?

"Cargo" is a Swiss sci-fi film with a mysterious and suspenseful story visibly inspired on "Abre los Ojos" (the same way "Matrix" was), in an environment that recalls "Alien". Unfortunately something is missing to be a great sci-fi.

I saw this film twice on DVD to fully understand the story and maybe the problem is the excessive information along 112 minutes running time. Maybe "Cargo" could be a little longer to better develop the status quo of Earth, government and Luddites. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Cargo"