This is a film that I honestly didn't see coming. For starters, it was a totally new concept (at least for me) to have a time-travel film that follows the people left behind by the time traveller, rather than the traveller himself. For a while I was disappointed to be missing out on the adventure, but the characters and events were compelling enough that I soon got sucked into an interesting and nuanced drama about loss and abandonment.
And then, when I had almost forgotten about the time-travel angle, the son of the original time-traveller, now grown-up, travels back in time to visit his father in the past (where he's on his way to a visit with Einstein) and, without wanting to spoil anything, the method the son uses to convince his father to go back to the future was utterly unexpected.
This was a film filled with subtlety, nuance, originality, and thoughtfulness. It was dramatic without being melodramatic. It was tragic without being depressing. It was intellectual without being pompous. It was adventurous without being mindless. It was science-fiction without being... well... science-fiction.
And it was also very nicely made, with attractive cinematography, a pleasant orchestral score, leafy collegial locations, solid direction, and a respectable, talented cast.
I didn't have any hopes or expectations when I started watching. But by the end I was utterly captivated and somewhat blown away by the originality of what I'd just watched. I love it when a movie does that, as it's a rare treat that doesn't come around very often.
And then, when I had almost forgotten about the time-travel angle, the son of the original time-traveller, now grown-up, travels back in time to visit his father in the past (where he's on his way to a visit with Einstein) and, without wanting to spoil anything, the method the son uses to convince his father to go back to the future was utterly unexpected.
This was a film filled with subtlety, nuance, originality, and thoughtfulness. It was dramatic without being melodramatic. It was tragic without being depressing. It was intellectual without being pompous. It was adventurous without being mindless. It was science-fiction without being... well... science-fiction.
And it was also very nicely made, with attractive cinematography, a pleasant orchestral score, leafy collegial locations, solid direction, and a respectable, talented cast.
I didn't have any hopes or expectations when I started watching. But by the end I was utterly captivated and somewhat blown away by the originality of what I'd just watched. I love it when a movie does that, as it's a rare treat that doesn't come around very often.