Phase 7

I saw this film as part of the "Imagine" film festival 2011 in Amsterdam. The story gets very close to a post-apocalypse situation. An apartment building is quarantined due to an unnamed disease. Apart from the initial appearance of health care personnel, and some helicopters we see and hear circling above the building, there are no interactions with the outside world. What we see happening is completely contained within the apartment building.

Initially I was afraid that the story would focus too much on the seven month pregnant couple with their internal struggles, tensions and mood changes. I was relieved that this was not the case at all. Dramatic developments came from interactions with various kinds of neighbors. Most of them were to be considered potentially hostile. This is not unusual when it comes to survival issues, harvesting food and weapons, and suspecting others from spreading the disease that started the quarantine.

When leaving the theater, I gave an "excellent" score for the public prize competition. As an after burner, the film makes you think how you and your neighbors would act in such a situation. It gives an extra meaning to the name of this festival.