Rating: B-
The allure of Mars is almost mystical. The idea that our cosmic neighbor is both so similar and so different from the planet we call home has been the spark of countless imaginations for time immemorial. Even today, a new corporate fueled space race is in effect with the nebulous but tantalizing goal of colonizing Mars at some point in the near-to-distant future.
Martian colonization recalls something of a romanticized notion of American colonization. It’s not too difficult to draw comparisons between the Oregon Trail and the Martian Trail. Many of us might live to see the day when intrepid humans hear the siren call of opportunity or adventure and sign away their savings for a chance to be among the first to live and work on an alien world.
Never mind, of course, the problems inherent with the notion. Problems, in this case, are just puzzles to be solved along the way. Thinking about the prospect, I find myself torn between wanting to scoff at the notion and knowing that humans, once their minds are decided, are dangerously single-minded. But what might life look like for those first intrepid few? A new movie, Settlers, attempts to answer this question.
Written and directed by Wyatt Rockefeller, Settlers is a mildly impressive debut feature that takes an arthouse approach to science fiction. In true arthouse fashion, the film audaciously eschews modern sci-fi convention and pares its large ideas down to the smallest possible portions. It’s somehow both claustrophobic and wide reaching, presenting itself as something of a Malickian meditation on humanity.
Ostensibly a coming of age story, Settlers follows the life of Remi (portrayed in different eras by Brooklynn Prince and Nell Tiger Free) and her mother and father, Ilsa and Reza (Sofia Boutella and Jonny Lee Miller). They live alone in a secluded compound far away from any society or settlement, until their peaceful existence is threatened by Jerry (Ismael Cruz Cordova), whose parents previously owned the terraformed farm where the family lived.
What Rockefeller nails about life in newly settled Mars is the isolation. In a way, Settlers recalls the iconography of the classic western. Indeed, life for many would absolutely resemble the pioneers that once trekked west and expanded the American Empire from sea to shining sea. While the story gives us precious little backstory, save from a few lines peppered in here and there, it’s interesting to note that Ilsa and Reza may or may not have stolen the land upon which they’re raising young Remi.
Intentional or no, this reading of the film does present an interesting approach to the prospect of Martian colonization, especially given the off-hand references of some destructive war that seems to have taken place between Earth and the colonists. This war, which seems to have rendered the rest of Mars either uninhabitable or uninhabited, hasn’t really found our family, however. They live as peacefully as they can, far away from any tragedies or atrocities as they can manage.
Some audiences might find themselves bemused by Rockefellers steadfast refusal to hold our hands through the complex world he seems to have built. Indeed, Settlers is a slow-paced exercise in character more than it is science fiction, and any action that takes place largely takes place off screen. This can be frustrating at times, but Rockefeller takes something of a “less is more” approach to storytelling and world building. It also allows him to zero in on the small cast of characters to explore humanity at its best and worst.
While he’s not always successful in his aim, it’s plain to see that Rockefeller is a filmmaker with something to say. Settlers certainly isn’t a film for everyone, but it never tried to be. Working as something of an anathema to the blockbuster take on science fiction, this film chooses to be smaller in scale, which ironically allows it to explore bigger psychological landscapes. Though far from perfect, Settlers is a unique take on Martian colonization crafted by a storyteller who seems to just be coming into his own. What’s most intriguing about it is what it might portend for the man behind the film but, as far as career opening salvos go, Settlers is, if nothing else, wildly interesting.
Settlers is now playing in select theaters and on demand.
