Transfer

Thank you Netflix. Damir Lukacevic is for me surprisingly unknown director and writer of the film (and I'm coming from Croatia).

"Transfer" is a great movie with a wonderful story with wonderful social criticism, black and white racism, corporation exploitation, cultural differences and exploitation of the poor people. Storyline is the main quality of this movie, direction is surprisingly good; only acting performances could be better. Nevertheless, comparison with "Gattaca", "Blade Runner" or SF canon "Dune" is inevitable. Is it morally OK to transfer one's consciousness, and can we talk then about preservation of humanity or its final perversion? Do we have the right to play with nature in such way?

"Transfer" is one of the best SF movies I watched in recent years. Hopefully, Hollywood filmmakers will learn from this masterful piece of storytelling.

Transfer (2010, Germany) is destined to be one of those obscurities that shows up in the discount DVD pile... assuming they have DVDs in the future. The premise is simple: a rich old German couple have their minds transferred into gorgeous young black bodies so they can continue their life and love. The wrinkle is that the original occupants are not purged, but awaken each night for four hours to live their own lives in the midst of their German host lives. Is this a prison or an opportunity?

Excellent acting (and cool futuristic architecture - go Berlin!) is what carries this film. We truly believe the older couple are deeply in love, can understand their decisions, and their misgivings. As we get to know the couple from Africa (Sarah from Ethiopia, Apolain from Mali) we understand their motivations and frustrations. The clever aspect is having four characters play out their drama in only two bodies.

Unfortunately the film is too slow for the content. There are too many scenes that do little to advance the narrative. The resolution seems obvious and rather perfunctory. And it has a cold brutality that doesn't fit with the warm vibes the four principal actors have conjured. (Though Jeanette Hain is icy blue and otherworldly.)

I found the soundtrack rather repetitive and sometimes inappropriate. I kept getting the feeling Transfer was trying too hard to be Gattaca (right down to the unnecessary music recital scene). There are also problems with the ADR that makes me wonder if dialogue wasn't changed in post.

Though Transfer is an intelligent film in a world of rubbish SF, it could have been so much more. I will generously give it a 7, since such efforts should be encouraged.

Saw this movie at the bifff (Brussels International Fantastic Film festival). This is truly an exceptional movie and a must see for anyone who likes sci-fi with brains. It is about an old couple that joins a program to transfer their brain to the young body of some third world people. It is about racism, how money makes the world turn and imagines a modern version of slavery. You get to see everyone's point of view : the rich German couple, the people that are around them, as well as the view from the people selling their body for money for their family The actors do a very good job in their dual role (before and after the transfer)

I really loved the soundtrack, hope that it will be on sale someday.

Transfer is a slow movie that will gently pick you up and make you face reality. It's all about life eternal, what we humans are ready to do, what can technology bring us, to what extent should we embrace it, and how much control do we have over our future.

The technology itself is totally bogus, but that is extremely easy to ignore. Once the situation is set, conflicts arise. You never know exactly where you're going to end up, and the screen writer make sure you get what you need to keep your eye riveted to the show.

The disappointments are few. A bit slow, not a lot of action, and subtitled. That's about it.

See if if you're ready for an unconventional romance set in a sterilized view of the future.

This is a low-budget German movie with English subtitles. It was dubbed in French but not in English for some reason. In an undisclosed future time, very rich old people can transfer their minds to new healthy bodies. It turns out that the best candidates are black people. It's apparently a voluntary process since the company gives money to the poor black volunteers, which will be sent to their families. Also, the bodies get back their original minds for 4 hours each night. We follow an old white couple, very much in love, going through this process. At first we see their adaption to their new younger black bodies, including rich white society, with interludes as their bodies regain their own minds at night. The focus shifts more on the younger "minds" as it goes along.

This is not a flashy movie with special effects by any means. This world resembles very much our own except the slightly more futuristic company. Even the transfer process is extremely minimalistic and not really shown. It's not a comedy, and it keeps a serious tone throughout despite opportunities for silly mischief when the old people get "young". It's more of an intimate social drama designed to make you think. It tackles racism, capitalism, medical ethics and what a soul is, but in mostly subtle ways. I thought the acting was fine (with the exception of the blond guy at night), but not outstanding. The main black actor was probably the stand-out because of his charismatic presence. I found the story interesting, I didn't know what was going to happen, but it didn't really grab me emotionally as melodrama was tightly restrained. To be honest, the movie felt a bit cold and definitely not like a typical American movie. I almost forgot to mention the original classical music soundtrack that was surprisingly good and sometimes added much-needed emotion. I liked watching Transfer, it's worth watching if you're into slow-placed intellectual sci-fi (with no effects), but I would not buy it. On my DVD, there were no special features.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10 (good)