I would start by stating what this film is NOT about. It is NOT a zombie/mutant flick where you kill them before they eat your brain. It is NOT about goodie good guys fighting the clearly evil baddies. I started this review by stating that this is not the regular fare one finds in theatres or on TV - in order to trim down the unhappy viewers who may give it a low rating.
The mutant premise is just - in my view - a means to present two main topics.
1) How do we - as individuals, as a society - treat those who are different: other sexual orientation, other religion, other life style. How do we treat people with (what we see as) challenges - mental physical, behavioural? How do we deal with people and situations that make us uncomfortable? How do we deal with those who challenge - rightfully or wrongfully - the accepted social norms. Do we also treat them "humanly" or do we throw them at the periphery of society - under lock and key preferably?
2) The heart warming (wrenching?) story of a family. How far does love for and commitment to one's spouse go when circumstances change dramatically? How does a father react when he finds out that his son is "different"? Should he convince his son to stay "in the mold" to avoid trouble with society or does he allow his son to be what he actually is deep inside?
There seems to be a third theme in there - ecological destruction - but it was less clear to me.
The acting and the special effects are also great.
Why I gave only 9 stars instead of 10? It was because the film tried to cram too much into two hours - too many ideas, too many images that one has a hard time catching and internalizing. (maybe i will watch it a second time in slow-mo.)
The mutant premise is just - in my view - a means to present two main topics.
1) How do we - as individuals, as a society - treat those who are different: other sexual orientation, other religion, other life style. How do we treat people with (what we see as) challenges - mental physical, behavioural? How do we deal with people and situations that make us uncomfortable? How do we deal with those who challenge - rightfully or wrongfully - the accepted social norms. Do we also treat them "humanly" or do we throw them at the periphery of society - under lock and key preferably?
2) The heart warming (wrenching?) story of a family. How far does love for and commitment to one's spouse go when circumstances change dramatically? How does a father react when he finds out that his son is "different"? Should he convince his son to stay "in the mold" to avoid trouble with society or does he allow his son to be what he actually is deep inside?
There seems to be a third theme in there - ecological destruction - but it was less clear to me.
The acting and the special effects are also great.
Why I gave only 9 stars instead of 10? It was because the film tried to cram too much into two hours - too many ideas, too many images that one has a hard time catching and internalizing. (maybe i will watch it a second time in slow-mo.)