Changing the past and adapting the present is something that has always fascinated me. I've seen tons of movies about it - Back to the Future, Twelve Monkeys, Mr. Nobody, Toto le Heros, Donnie Darko. And we can now add Back to Tomorrow to that list.
The film begins as an exciting adventure story (which is somewhat like the book De Zevensprong by Tonke Dragt): a student in the wonderful Leuven receives bizarre e-mails from an unknown person who apparently can see into the future. However, that history has a surprising end, and then we are suddenly 25 years later and a timid professor of quantum physics is working with his overenthusiastic assistant on a way to manipulate time. For example, they could send electrons to the past, and why not suddenly e-mails?
Giving away more of the plot would spoil the viewing pleasure. Because the trump card of Back to Tomorrow is that the classic story structure is exchanged for a winding path full of surprises and unexpected twists. The amazing aspect that science offers plays a major role in this, but so do the beautifully developed (and interpreted) characters, the humour, the tragedy and the phenomenal details (I want an Einstein and Hawking head too!)
Anyone who says playing with time also says paradoxes, so Back to Tomorrow is another film that will spark hours of debate among enthusiasts. And that's just what I love so much. So there is a good chance that I will watch this movie again soon. Because this compelling, swirling, exciting, beautifully portrayed, in short, atypical Flemish film, is one that you can chew on for a long time.
