This fantastic movie was just a blindfolded dart shot for me. I happened to watch this and find that it is a great movie and a great experience.
In the beginning of the movie I was taken in by the unhurried tempo of the acting and directing. I was drawn in by the fact that I didn't really know if the story being told by the father was true or a mere bed time fantasy told to lull his daughter to sleep. that tempo would not have been enough to keep me watching, even with the strong but wonderfully subdued acting performance of Nils d'Aulaire, who played Bill / General Trius. I had never seen this actor before and he seems to have only three credits to his name, two as a composer and, yes you guessed it, one as an actor. It did sadden me a little. I would liked to have seen more of him.
His wife,Holly, played by Julie Ann Emery and daughter, Wren, played by Onata Aprile both gave outstandingly solid and understated performances that did what they seemed to need to do give a realistic feeling of a family nearing some precipice in the relationship between the mother and father. They are great ensemble actors giving the movie a solid more realistic feel. which was I think necessary considering the fantastic nature of the subject matter.
When I first saw Bill on stage and he performs his first song accompanying himself on the banjo I found myself hook in mouth sold. The music is lovely, the style, the lyrics and Nils d'Aulaire voice all combined to mesmerize me.
To this point in the movie I have enjoyed it but then another, over weight, eyeglass wearing "Alien?" is sent from Bills planet to help bill finish the job he was initially sent to do, prepare the earth for colonization. After the arrival of the Mighty Kevin, played by Jay Klaitz, the movie becomes exponentially more fun. Keven can seem to do nothing that doesn't make me laugh.
This movie is a gem. Making subtle statements about the things that make us human, good and bad.
I started watching this with no preconceived idea of the story, the director or the actors. But all of them shined. Give this movie an opportunity and you will be rewarded.
