Bessie Smyth
Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.
Robert Heathman
This has a feel of old style Sci Fi of new and original ideas that are plausible. The plot is pleasantly original in the genre of post apocalyptic films. Due to the nature of the plot, it's hard for the story to be handed out on a silver platter so a lot of inference and loose ends take place. I feel these do not detract, rather add to the films brilliance. The style is out of the ordinary and unique but there is a story being told that I found both captivating and enjoyable. There is no portion on this film that wasn't expertly executed. Extraordinarily brilliant.
Boristhemoggy
I suspect this movie set out to be clever and artful. Sadly it did not have any content so while some scenes are almost artful in their presentation, they have no content. A story must engage with the listener/viewer so that want to continue reading/watching. There's no point watching out of curiosity you want to watch because you're interested in what the story is showing you. This story does not engage and does not tell you anything. There were some scenes that left me utterly perplexed because they meant nothing and had no connection to other scenes. Art is great when it has a point and a purpose that you can communicate to others. If you can't communicate the point and purpose it's not art except to you, it's just uninteresting and nonsensical.
crspano
I loved the acting. my favorites are Tucker Smallwood and Jason Ritter. I thought the bunker vignette was an interesting contrast against the other story lines. The bunker characters look to the future and the notion of hope or the eventual demise of the human race. You have to consider that this is an independent movie shot on a tiny budget. With that in mind the directing, camera-work and editing are awesome. If you appreciate movies, script writing and directing you will value this movie. In summary, it is a thought provoking concept. Could the human race survive for very long without memory. Would there in fact be any social context for the survivors. This of course goes back to the plot line and writing the script. How do you hold it all together and advance the plot when none of the characters with the exception of the bunker characters can remember what happened a few minutes in the past. An interesting and challenging writing and directing dilemma. if you really enjoy movies as an art form Embers will give you something to think about
gavin6942
After a global neurological epidemic, those who remain search for meaning and connection in a world without memory.On its surface, "Embers" is a very simple movie. We have a series of people who have lost their memory to varying degrees. Some can remember for a day, some only minutes. A few seem to be able to push the limits a little bit further. Good science fiction is taking reality as we know it, and pushing the edges out just a bit to what is not yet actual, but possible. And "Embers" succeeds in that endeavor.Writer-director Claire Carre was fully aware of the importance of keeping the infection idea grounded in reality. "I did a ton of research, looking at different neurological case studies, and specially looking at the lives of people with amnesia… The characters in the film suffer from symptoms similar to the type of brain damage you might get from viral encephalitis." Thus, what we see in "Embers" is entirely possible, as unlikely as it might be that amnesia would occur on a (presumably) global scale.Whether intentional or not, the film evokes the idea of location as a character in its own right. The filmmakers went out of their way to find just the right settings: an abandoned church in Gary, Indiana and an underground bunker in Poland are two prominent examples. The bunker shown in the film is not a set, but was built as part of the Nazi line of defense during WWII. The spiral staircase scene is real: the stairs run ten stories deep with over twenty miles of underground tunnels to explore. The locations serve as characters because they tell as much of the story – perhaps more – than the humans, showing how much the world has fallen into decay.Within the simple plot structure, we are left to find subtle messages on our own. At least two dichotomies are evident: Hope versus Chaos, and Freedom versus Safety. Freedom versus Safety is a bit more obvious, as the character of Miranda and her father have a discussion touching on these themes. After years of isolation, she longs to be free, to search for her mother or just to see new surroundings. Her father, perhaps wiser, tries to explain how she is the safest she could ever be: one step outside, and she risks falling victim just like everyone else. So which is the right way to live: alone and safe, or free and struggling? The character of Chaos is in the form of a man, but could just as easily be a metaphor for chaos in general. The world, left to its own devices, will inevitably decay and turn to dust. He is part of that process, just working at an accelerated rate, killing and smashing as he plows through life like a hurricane. Countering him is Boy, who stands as a metaphor for hope. Just as Chaos wanders, so does Boy, and we get the impression that maybe, possibly, he has not been affected by the virus. Because he is mute we can never fully gauge his memory, but he seems to comprehend the passing of days better than anyone else. If there are more Boys (and Girls) in the world, it may not decay and chaos may not reign after all. This one character (Boy) inverts the whole narrative from a tragic, depressing tale into one of hope."Embers" is a complicated film disguised as a simple one. For anyone who wants to see a film about a glimmer of hope in a world at its lowest, this is the film for you. "Embers" premieres July 22 at the Fantasia International Film Festival.
