ard05 Review of 20th Century Man

20th Century Man (2012)

The satisfaction of a two-hour movie in fifteen minutes!

[9/10 · 18 November 2011]

I'm on a volunteer previewing committee for a regional film festival, and "20th Century Man" is one of my favorites out of the ones I've seen so far. This heartwarming and imaginative Art Deco confection tells the story of a young inventor in the 1930s who gets a bit more than he bargained for when he tries out his newest invention (a time machine). Wonderful visual effects and a stirring score sweep the story along, all the way to its satisfying conclusion. This nearly-silent feature has all the exciting twists and turns of a big-budget movie six to eight times its length, but with all the charm of the kind of movie that often makes film festivals an exciting and unique alternative to the traditional movie-theater experience.