Evolution

A young boy begins to wonder about the isolated community he has grown up in; one populated only with boys his age and young women.

This French film is an example of a recent type of development that I have noticed in horror cinema in that it is a film that is played out in such a self-consciously arty style that it seems to think engaging with the audience may in actual fact be beneath it. The events depicted have some genuine potential but they are played out in such an overwhelmingly downbeat manner that their effect is seriously compromised. The tone of the film is more or less one note from start to finish, resulting in a pretty unsatisfying experience. This is an especial shame when the overall setting of the story and its enigmatic qualities are fairly promising. Details are not fully revealed about what is going on but this fact didn't concern me too much – aspects such as the strange medical experiments and odd events that played out on the beach in the dead of night were intriguing. But the material was not served well in my opinion by the excessively po-faced execution and it was ultimately quite difficult getting very involved with the events that played out in this one.

This movie is the equivalent of watching a famous painter perform his craft; you stand there, amazed at the beauty being demonstrated, and then when it's all over, you wonder, "What did he just paint?". I am all for films that make you think and create an ambiguous air in both storytelling and message, but this film is beyond absurd. The premise, the events that transpire throughout the movie, the lack of rhyme or reason as to why the events are taking place in the first place, etc. It was like a puzzle with not only missing pieces, but with each piece a part of a different puzzle. It's beautiful shot with some amazing cinematography, so be prepared to be amazed at some of the vistas shown throughout the film. But the movie just does not make any sense, and the ending does not clarify anything, nor does it bring it all together. Had it clarified some of the events, it actually would have been a great art film. As it stands, it's quite possibly the most nonsensical movie I have ever seen. I would not recommend watching it.

Lucile Hadzihalilovic's long awaited follow-up to 2004's 'Innocence', the main characters in 'Évolution' are once again children nearing puberty, but whereas 'Innocence''s young cast consists of girls, all of the children here are boys. The plot involves one such boy discovering the dead body of another with a starfish attached to him, which seems to provoke all the mothers in town to send their boys to hospital, despite none feeling ill. As with 'Innocence', the plot is hardly straightforward here and it would be remiss to fixate over working out what is going on when it is such a thematically rich experience. The ideas at hand all pertain to normal growing up experiences, from a fascination with how humans reproduce to interest in the naked female form. One might even interpret the film as a living nightmare with the boy's very worst fears over such things manifesting themselves. Is human reproduction really that monstrous do naked women really have such strange bodies? The film is certainly littered with enough lush imagery and moments of eerie beauty that it is hard to bring a straightforward reading to the film. And yet, whereas the same can be said about 'Innocence', it is easier to interpret what is happening there. 'Innocence' also benefits from all its girls being three dimensional characters whereas all of the boys here are interchangeable. Simply put, 'Évolution' is not nearly as satisfying as 'Innocence' with an equal dearth of answers - but it is still a wondrous audiovisual experience the causes one to think as per Hadzihalilovic's earlier work.

This is not a movie for everyone - or at least - you should be aware that it's not a Sci-fi nor a horror movie as we know them - before selecting this movie.

The movie is beautiful - it is just like meditation at the sea. I guarantee lower blood pressure after watching this move. I loved it. (It almost reminds me to the universe of Myst - the old computer game from the 90s- where you are totally alone on a abandoned Island and you don't know how you got there.)

Furthermore - the move makes you think. It may be a far future situation or it may be a dream of a child. As children we can have fantasies or anxiety for loosing our parents - or we may misenterpret a situation as dangerous etc. this movie may be a dream or a post apocalyptic movie.

Either way - this movie works, but I understand that some people don't like it. This is like entering a gallery. Sometimes you are not in the mood. But, if you are - this movie is unique and genial.

A true artwork.

Evolution looked interesting in the previews, which left me wanting to see more. Sadly, after watching the movie, I was left feeling like I had walked somewhere but stayed in the same place.

The movie is a very stylistic an artful rendering of some place near the water where children play and their mothers care for them. The strangeness of the place slowly (and I mean slowly) becomes obvious. We soon notice that there are no grown adult males, for instance. There is very little that I can say that will spoil the movie, but I will refrain from going into anything that might be construed as a plot element. Suffice it to say, the movie is about 90% ambiance, with some beautiful shots. The underwater shots contrastingly more beautiful than the starkness and dullness of the village life. There were shots in which I measured a character literally staring at the lens for nearly one minute - and yes, I looked at my watch.

Evolution is, sadly, like riding in a beautiful elevator with some soothing background music playing through ceiling-mounted speakers. We feel like we are enveloped in the ambiance of that moment, staring in the same direction as everyone else. We may or may not notice the music, the ornate trim, or the polished floor. We just want to get to our floor. Or, perhaps, if it takes too long, we may consciously notice what song is playing. Nevertheless, at the end, the doors open and we get out, the elevator not leaving any impression on us. It got us somewhere, but we don't care, we are here where we always thought we would be, no thanks to the elevator. That is Evolution, a mildly satisfying piece of semi-conscious background images and sounds that dumps us at the end of the ride and lets us go on with our lives - we don't know if we liked it, it was beautiful but we are indifferent and only thankful that we did not go crashing, because it could have been worse.

OK, so where was I going before? .... oh yes, here is my floor.