A Message from the Future (1981) Poster

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1/10
A Perfect Storm
svenrufus26 March 2015
You know how you sometimes watch a film which has a great story, but really shonky acting. Maybe it's well sot, but the script is all over the place. Or weak in concept, but the special effects pull you through. It's quite possible to like films with all sorts of flaws if there in enough to redeem it in other areas, and you leave it with an OK feeling, tinged with a 'If only...' frame of mind.

This film isn't one of those. I watched it as a podcast I subscribe to is about to discuss it. I haven't heard that yet, but I'm seriously questioning their wisdom in that choice. Presumably they find some redemption in it, and it will be interesting to see what that is, because I find none.

Where to start...? The acting? OK, that could barely be worse. It was so bad that I could only wonder at times if they were doing it deliberately for some effect. One newsreader character read her lines as if she was asleep, there were the hammiest of evil villain laughs, the worst ever Margaret Thatcher, amongst scores of weak performances. I really am not exaggerating when I say that at least one of the kids in my 8 year old daughter's school is a better actor than anyone in this.

What else? The camera work/directing/set? OK, let's be clear, this was made on no budget, the sets were a bit rubbish, but they did what they could to make it look good I guess. I'm actually OK with it's low budget look. But the camera was more wobbly than the set, the director focused in on the random and extensive nudity in a way which had me worried for a while that it might descend into some kid of tawdry soft core. (I've got absolutely no problem with nudity btw, they looked great, but it starts to make you wonder what's going on in the director's mind after a while. At times, the camera work was so poor it was like watching some French New Wave jump cut sequence, but that wasn't what was happening.

What about the story? Hmm. At best, Hmm... Without giving plot details, the nugget of story at the heart of this was left floundering amid a morass of irrelevance. Was there another theme that was being explored through the film, a subtext - time, society, power...? No, there wasn't. If that was their intent, we didn't see it expressed, lost in the attention we were forced to pay to boobs and eating chocolate bars.

And one glorious non sequitur sequence, where I nearly cried through laughter, deranged laughter as I lost the will to live. A random band plays a whole song in the middle section ("Radioactivity, It's a hell of an activity") which served no purpose, was sh!t, and unbelievably trashy.

No. Really. I can't think of a redeeming feature of this film. If you are still thinking of watching it, my advice is get some mates round, get drunk, get something to smoke ready, get the munchies sorted, then go out and do something else.

Man alive! One of the worst things I have ever seen. 1/10 only because I ca't give zero
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9/10
The Israeli Sci-Fi/Cold War Masterpiece
jackrchang13 June 2011
{Hard to believe if you read on, but this review actually does NOT contain any plot spoilers...except that it would be much more fun to know nothing of this film and dive right in if you are the adventurous sort - in which case stop reading, buy a ticket, and take the ride. Incidentally "tickets" aren't too hard to find with a little looking.}

This film follows the adventures of a shiny jump-suited, telekinetic stranger from a strange land in his time-traveling disco chamber from where he guides the leaders of the world towards nuclear Armageddon so that mankind might be saved. Wait, no, it's about the evil Japanese corporation that has developed karate robots to demonstrate their hypno-controller with which they will dictate the fate of mankind. No, wait...what's happening? Suddenly this is a near slapstick political farce that is too broad for Woody Allen yet hinting at dark undercurrents of unpopular ideology...wait...did this just have hardcore sex in it?...um...is that an apocalyptic new-wave Israeli rock band somehow blending punk with the BeeGees for the sake of all mankind?...ow...my head hurts...

All that and more await you in Message From the Future! This film is ten pounds of movie in a five pound bag!

What's it about? What's it about indeed.
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9/10
A rare Israeli science fiction gem by a misunderstood genius
yediotm10 December 2006
David Avidan was an Israeli poet, writer, painter and director who was infatuated with the future. In this movie "Sheder me-Haatid" - "a message from the future" Avidan tells the story of FM (Future Man), a messenger who comes from the future year 3005 to future year 1985 (the film was shot in 1981), with the goal of convincing humanity not to postpone WW3 but rather to start it immediately. The film has a very low-budget feeling to it, with this kind of ridiculous sci-fi shiny clothes and costumes. If you like such sci-fi mannerisms, this film is for you. However, the film also contains other very interesting ideas - interesting critique on human culture, ideas on telepathy, time travel and an intriguing sci-fi plot. This is film is one of its kind, as not a lot of sci-fi films are done in Israel (in fact i can't think of any other). However, it is well worth watching not only for that reason, but because it is a interesting inspired and inspiring piece of sci-fi fiction. 9/10
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