2073 Suggests the Future is Now

2073 (Blu-ray)

2024 / 85 min

From Neon/Decal Releasing

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Stinky the Destroyer😿

It’s possible this movie will have you pondering (however briefly) the ramifications of shopping on Amazon, the people & groups you engage with on social media, the increasing presence of tech & AI in daily life, and most ominously, the people we allow to become powerful.

Those things combined might just doom humankind.

That’s the gist of 2073, which is part speculative science-fiction, part documentary. It imagines a world decimated by climate change, and where anything resembling free speech is illegal. As seen through its main character, Ghost (Samantha Morton), most people clinging to personal freedom live in underground squalor, surviving off the scraps of wealthy corporate and political leaders who live in pristine skyscrapers.

But there’s no real plot to the film. Ghost narrates - perhaps too much - what it’s like living in this world, while reflecting on the guidance of her grandmother, who used to document the world’s slide into totalitarianism before being taken away (presumably killed). Ghost is also aware that they will someday come for her.

It's a fixer-upper, but the price was right.

However, the bulk of the film consists of actual incidents and contemporary footage related the growing fascist regimes around the world (with plenty of shots of Donald Trump & Vladimir Putin sucking up to dictators), exacerbated by their weaponization of surveillance technology, social media and AI. Additionally, the increasing influence of corporate billionaires like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg on every aspect of daily life is chillingly depicted, as is the current demonization of news media and the concept of free press.

How well 2073 conveys its subjective and none-too-subtle warning will largely depend on how the viewer already perceives the world. The film raises alarming issues about what’s going on under our noses, some we’re aware of, others many choose to ignore. But I can also imagine certain people watching this and rolling their eyes at the doomsaying tone of the entire film (you know who you are). What’s more, it isn’t always entirely successful bridging the gap between the flashback footage and hellish future it depicts.

Speaking of which, the sci-fi elements of the film are well conceived and Ghost makes an interesting protagonist, even though we see her do little but dumpster dive and read books. The few other characters she does engage with appear only briefly and we know little about them. It also must be said that these segments serve as more of a wraparound to the flashback footage, meaning 2073 ultimately ends up being more of an editorial than a movie experience.