Senn

Senn is a masterpiece of world-building from the otaku-grade attention to detail of the landscapes and hardscapes, to the visionary worlds created within the main character. The production design is top-notch, yet never overpowers the story. The special effects are minimal strengthening the story, rather than replacing it. The score by Cubosity enhances the feeling of the scenes and fits nicely within the overall story telling.

Senn is a great exploration of what it means to be human, and how every day lives can be changed in an instant. It is clearly concerned with contemporary issues such as environmentalism and human rights, without being dogmatic. The relationships in the film are strong, complicated, and real. The subtleness of Senn allows the viewer to leave their own imprint on the film and take from it something very personal.

Go see what Senn has for you.

SENN (Zach Eulberg) is a seemingly common worker on a ruined, industrialized planet. He soon discovers that his destiny lies far beyond his current existence.

SENN is a strange, somewhat trippy sci-fi tale. It's a journey into the unknown for SENN and the viewer. He finds out that, in spite of appearances, he's got a purpose that could unlock secrets of ultimate importance.

Though the story is engaging, it does suffer from the film's meandering, somewhat dreamy approach. In spite of this, the movie is original enough to recommend to any sci-fi / fantasy fan...

A must watch for all budding filmmakers- this is a nano budget feature film which shows that you don't need a big budget multimillion dollar to create art.

Senn is a majestically crafted film that explores the concept of what it means to be human against an initial backdrop of despair and depression that quickly turns to beauty and wonder.

The film is set upon another planet, one which has been inhabited by a faceless corporation and filled with factories where humans work for little pay and no hope of a better life. Senn is a lowly factory worker who leads a pointless existence making crap for people who don't care, or even know about his plight. This is a stark comparison to the lives of sweat shop workers in the real world who work mind numbing jobs for people who neither know or want to know about the reality of their lives. This is a wonderful thought provoking issue which underpins the films opening acts.

The films true beauty though lies once Senn discovers that there is a sentient alien intelligence watching him. This alien plucks him from his monotonous existence and takes him and his partner on a journey of profound exploration, though not everything is as it first seems. Senn's sanity lies in the balance, resting on a knifes edge ready to topple one way or the other, and yet he is the chosen one destined to fulfill a mysterious mission and save civilization.

Senn is a riveting and thoroughly entertaining film that not only tells an intelligent story but does so with a mastery of artistry that is sadly rare to find in cinema.

The films limited use of special effects are done to complement the story rather than to replace or overpower it. At its heart Senn is not a special effect heavy science-fiction extravaganza, it is a philosophical exploration of our existence and the misconceptions therein.

Some of the acting does feel a little stilted, unnatural and frankly off putting at times. At points the poor delivery of lines takes away some of the shine from the inherently intelligent storytelling beneath. Thankfully though this is mostly contained within the films opening few scenes and once the sentient beings arrive the film kicks into high gear. Overall those moments of forced acting are fleeting and don't subtract too much from your overall entertaining experience.

Senn's biggest skill is in creating a beautiful cinematic experience that is majestically shot, wonderfully directed and is intellectually stimulating. It's an excellent mix that really needs to be seen to be believed.

I haven't touched on the story line much because quite frankly I don't think I can really explore it's context and it's connotations in any form of true justice in the five hundred words or so I have for this review. And even if I could I wouldn't want to spoil even a second of the cerebral exploration that is Senn.

Senn makes you question things and makes you explore new concepts but above all it entertains you, from the opening scene to the final credits it's an entertaining ride that will keep you hooked in its psychological journey. I heartily recommend that everyone checks out Senn, and you know what? I think I may go and experience it all over again.

If you appreciate subtlety and dry humor, and can overlook some seemingly-wooden acting, this might be worth it. I say ''seemingly'' wooden acting because in some ways, given the context of the culture and futuristic era in which this is to have occurred, a sort of bland, passionless mannerism would actually make a great deal of sense. The world is a hopeless, dull place, filled with nothing but drudgery and monotony, and no hope of things ever changing for these people. So that, while it may not appeal to a lot of movie-watcher's tastes, is actually a rather logical thing to include, assuming it was deliberate. Even if it wasn't, it worked for me.

It's very slow-paced, not an action film at all, and events are presented in a very non-linear way (scenes pop up out of nowhere, and they don't make much sense until later on in the film - that worked well for me, to maintain interest). Something similar in feel to Ryan Reynold's ''The Nines'', though lower-budget.

The visuals were somewhat reminiscent of 1990s CGI, but nice just the same, and the concept was very intriguing. Pay attention to the guide's outfits, and how the props change from scene to scene while on ''the ship'' - it's all very subtle, and this type of visual subtlety works its way throughout the entire movie.

There is full-frontal male nudity in a few scenes, but it's not gratuitous, vulgar or overtly-sexual at all. I suppose the story -could- have been made without it, but it did help add a bit of realism to certain things.

All-in-all, I think it takes a fairly rare temperament to enjoy this sort of film. If you're not sure after about 15 minutes, just watch until you've seen a few minutes of their interaction with the occupant of the 'ship', as that frames the tone for the rest of the movie. By then, you should know if you want to see the rest of it or not.

For my own part, I think I probably enjoyed this more than most people would. But if it sounds like it -might- appeal to you, I definitely recommend checking it out. :-)