Turning the tables on the royal we destroying Earth, "Gaia" is a revenge fantasy where humankind gets a whiff of life as an endangered species. Sadly this is our inevitable fate, but here mother earth takes on a more pro active role. Our demise is a bizarre reforestation of sorts.
A pair of park rangers, with well meaning pro environment aspirations, trek into thick jungle waters with dire results. Of course. You can enter, but leaving is another matter. Mother Nature, in the form of a far reaching, breathing, growing, vengeful fungi comes alive at night. Plumes of spores infecting and reproducing with heaving pulses. Thick with atmosphere. Alluring cinematography. Stunning vistas. This is one succulent movie.
A couple of totally off the grid subjects (father and son) are already on board, providing much needed thread from the stunned rangers to the psychedelic goings on in this magical mushroom kingdom. What is real and what is not, is not so clear, creating a frustrating mystery aspect to the dreamy passages. It is beautiful, lush, creative and unsettling. Unfortunately the trippy trip is eventually dissected by some all too physical confrontations, steering the film into standard eco-horror fare.
Barend, the caveman like survivalist father who favours the most inappropriate of tree hugging, dresses like a caveman, owns a weird combination of encyclopedic knowledge, alchemy expertise, and a penchant for culty religious hogwash, is the most entertaining character running around the forest, yet his background and transformation from civilization are never duly explored.
What is clear is that slowly but surely, the creeping, growing organism that lies underfoot is a force of uh, nature, and there will be mayhem. Can't decide whether it is a thought-provoking cautionary tale (don't mess with nature) or slick monster flick (nature messes with you). Either way it does get messy. Pretty and messy. Pretty Messy.
An interesting and stylish take on infections, and all matters natural that we can't quite control, "Gaia" could have been quite powerful if handled with more restraint. Still worth a look though.
A pair of park rangers, with well meaning pro environment aspirations, trek into thick jungle waters with dire results. Of course. You can enter, but leaving is another matter. Mother Nature, in the form of a far reaching, breathing, growing, vengeful fungi comes alive at night. Plumes of spores infecting and reproducing with heaving pulses. Thick with atmosphere. Alluring cinematography. Stunning vistas. This is one succulent movie.
A couple of totally off the grid subjects (father and son) are already on board, providing much needed thread from the stunned rangers to the psychedelic goings on in this magical mushroom kingdom. What is real and what is not, is not so clear, creating a frustrating mystery aspect to the dreamy passages. It is beautiful, lush, creative and unsettling. Unfortunately the trippy trip is eventually dissected by some all too physical confrontations, steering the film into standard eco-horror fare.
Barend, the caveman like survivalist father who favours the most inappropriate of tree hugging, dresses like a caveman, owns a weird combination of encyclopedic knowledge, alchemy expertise, and a penchant for culty religious hogwash, is the most entertaining character running around the forest, yet his background and transformation from civilization are never duly explored.
What is clear is that slowly but surely, the creeping, growing organism that lies underfoot is a force of uh, nature, and there will be mayhem. Can't decide whether it is a thought-provoking cautionary tale (don't mess with nature) or slick monster flick (nature messes with you). Either way it does get messy. Pretty and messy. Pretty Messy.
An interesting and stylish take on infections, and all matters natural that we can't quite control, "Gaia" could have been quite powerful if handled with more restraint. Still worth a look though.
- hipCRANK.