Coherence (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Coherence - Nothing is a coincidence |
| Original title | Coherence |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2013 |
| length | 88 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | James Ward Byrkit |
| script | James Ward Byrkit, Alex Manugian |
| production |
Lene Bausager , Alyssa Byrkit |
| music | Kristin Øhrn Dyrud |
| camera | Nic Sadler |
| cut | Lance Pereira |
| occupation | |
| |
Coherence (Original title: Coherence ) is an American science fiction film directed by James Ward Byrkit from 2013 . The film premiered on September 19, 2013 at the Austin Fantastic Fest film festival . It started in Germany on December 25, 2014. Distribution company in German-speaking countries is Bildstören .
action
The eight friends Emily, Kevin, Mike, Lee, Hugh, Beth, Amir and Laurie meet for dinner together after a long time. Initially, the conversations revolve around everyday things and the network of relationships between friends. As a result, the passage of a comet that night plays an increasingly important role. Lee, for example, reports that when the comet last appeared in Finland in 1923, people behaved strangely. But this time the comet will pass the earth much closer. Hugh implies that his brother, a scientist, told him to call in should "strange things" happen. During the course of dinner, the cellular network first collapses, then cell phone displays splinter and finally the power goes out.
At some distance, however, a house can be seen that is brightly lit. Mike brings some flashlights and blue glow sticks from the basement. Amir and Hugh decide to go to the lighted house. While they're out, Mike gets the emergency generator running in the basement. Upon return, Hugh's head is injured and Amir carries a box with him. Both look disturbed and report having seen a dinner party like theirs. In the box there are numbered photos and a table tennis bat. There is heated discussion, the residents of the other house are seen as a potential danger. Mike, Laurie, Emily, and Kevin head for the house again. Mike concludes that this house is exactly the same as his own. The group makes their way back and meets four people who look just like them - only this group has red glow sticks. Both groups flee. On the way back you will notice a particularly dark zone.
Back at the house, Hugh remembers his brother's book, which explains quantum coherence using the example of Schrödinger's cat thought experiment . After discussions, the friends come to the conclusion that the comet has opened up some form of access to the parallel worlds described in the book and that the dark zone is a kind of turntable to other worlds. The inhabitants from the individual worlds mixed more and more as they explored the events. The box with the numbered pictures is an attempt by another parallel world to relate the people to the correct worlds. In the further course, the people from the individual worlds try to sort themselves correctly again, partly by intriguing in other groups or making logical deductions to their origin.
Emily slowly begins to realize that the main features of the characters remain the same in principle in all worlds, but that relationships and living conditions vary greatly. She therefore sets out in search of the perfect world for her and tries to kill her counterpart there in order to live in its place in this supposedly happy world. The other Emily remains alive and can call for help on her cell phone in the last scene.
reception
The film took part in the Sundance and Cannes film festivals, among others . At the Sitges Festival , the film won the award for the best screenplay and the jury award. He also won first prizes at the Imagine Film Festival and the Austin Fantastic Fest. At Rotten Tomatoes , the film received a score of 88%.
The film received mostly positive reviews. It is often described as a mixture of Melancholia and Another Earth . The strength of the plot is seen in the connection of personal character traits beyond the dimensions. It was criticized that the concept underlying the plot of Schrödinger's cat was actually completely wrongly implemented. Yet:
“Coherence takes the currently popular concept of science fiction films broken down to the personal level to extremes and shows an evening party that approaches unexpected metaphysical entanglements very pragmatically. The result is entertaining. "
Josef Lommer also comes to the conclusion on critric.de that the film contains logical plot holes. But:
“Cosmic chaos in a very small space. James Ward Byrkit's perfidious film puzzle allows physical dilemmas to diffuse into tangible everyday problems. "
The film was also received positively by international English-language critics, despite the aforementioned flaws. Stephan Dolton from the Hollywood Reporter, for example, emphasized that the film was very dense without visual effects:
"An ingenious micro-budget science-fiction nerve-jangler which takes place entirely at a suburban dinner party, Coherence is a testament to the power of smart ideas and strong ensemble acting over expensive visual pyrotechnics ... A group of eight friends gather for dinner ... Marital tensions and sexual secrets sizzle just below the surface, but relationship drama is soon overshadowed by astrological weirdness when a comet passes close to Earth, shutting down power supplies and phone connections ... It slowly becomes clear that the fabric of reality has been radically remixed by the comet's arrival. We are definitely not in Kansas any more ... Byrkit only gave his cast limited information about the narrative loops and swerves ahead, encouraging a semi-improvised naturalism that feels authentically tense. "
background
The film was shot on a few evenings in the living room of screenwriter and director James Ward Byrkit in Santa Monica . He had chosen the actors in such a way that they did not know each other. In addition, they were not given a script, but only a slip of paper with information and the background of the character to be played every evening. Byrkit's intention was to make the room in which the action takes place appear larger than an ordinary living room - the mysterious atmosphere and the unbelievable should become tangible for the viewer.
There were only five days of shooting in total. This was also due to the fact that Byrkit had next to no budget. His script was only twelve pages. The film gains a lot of depth and impression through the improvisation of the actors, the discussions seem very realistic.
Web links
- Coherence in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Coherence on the website of the German rental company
- Coherence at cinetopiafestival.org, accessed March 28, 2016
Individual evidence
- ^ Coherence. Rotten tomatoes. Retrieved March 28, 2016 .
- ^ Coherence. Film starts. Retrieved March 28, 2016 .
- ^ Coherence. critic.de. Retrieved March 28, 2016 .
- ^ Coherence. Hollywood Reporter. June 13, 2014, accessed March 28, 2016 .
- ^ Coherence. In love with movies. Retrieved March 28, 2016 .
- ↑ How Gotham Nominee James Ward Byrkit Made 'Coherence' in 5 Days with No Script or Budget. indiwire.com. October 24, 2014, accessed March 29, 2016 .