Boston Science Fiction Film Festival Day 7:Kindred (2014) - Here is the synopsis from IMDB "A cynical young Indigenous man and his family are abducted by aliens. Leading them on a breathtaking escape, he discovers the aliens' origins, shattering his worldview forever." What was cool about this is you don't often see an alien abduction movie where the people taken fight back causing the spaceship to crash. Well put together and very entertaining. The ending that is a selling point is not quite so mind shattering as it is being sold but still this is a decent short on the subject.
The Sighting (2013) - Put off by the premise of the film it was difficult to really take this character filmed story seriously from the start. Joshua (Doug Dezzani) a doctorate student working in emotional trauma gets approved to film a trip with his girlfriend Mia (Megan Reinking) to the location of her Mother's disappearance. This is a killer to the plot because that would just not happen in the real world. You would never base your work on someone you are having an intimate relationship with. The boundary issues, your ability to be objective and the patient's ability to to relate to you as a helper are all compromised. Now since this is a film it is necessary to suspend disbelief but this is a tall order. The second drawback is having the characters film themselves, this is a tired form at this point 15 years after the Blair Witch Project brought the technique into wide use. It is understandable for financial reasons but it makes the viewing experience unpleasant. It is not too much to have a film look good as well as tell a good story.
Past those substantial hurdles the film does a nice job balancing between what is real and imagined in Mia's story. When she was young she was abandoned by her mother on a desert road near the New Mexico town she lived in. In her memories her Mother was abducted by aliens and with the alcoholism of her father it meant a hard life for Mia growing up in foster care. What is first defined as a yearly depression at the time of year her Mom vanished we get to journey with this couple as they visit the location and the dynamic of the story change. Josh who is at first a sympathetic boyfriend trying to help his girl reconcile her past he become more of an antagonist as Mia's alien abduction story gains momentum. We watch and learn of his inability accept her story and see his agenda is not to learn about her story but instead to help her accept that it is not possible. Mia ends up being the more sympathetic character while Joshua seems like a bit of an ass.
In the end though this is an alien abduction story so know what to expect.
The Noah (1975) - An interesting choice for the science fiction festival fitting in as an apocalyptic film but could easily have been mistaken for a castaway film. The desire to have this one was because it was a lost film for 40 years before a print was discovered. Garen Daly who puts on the film festival made the viewing memorable by bring writer, director Daniel Bourla on hand to see the film on the big screen for the first time since it's discovery. The film as a whole was just okay a one man act played out with the voice over of the voices in his head. Lead actor Robert Strauss rants and raves his way from lonely stranded soldier to a God and back to a lonely man in an inventive monologue. The cacophony of noise in his head may have or may not have helped him keep his sanity.
