Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Ariana DeBose, Chris Messina, John Gallagher Jr., Masha Mashkova, Costa Ronin, Pilou Asbæk.
Even if there were just two people left on Earth, they would find a way to carry on a war that destroyed all other life in the name of patriotism, nationalism, and self-interest.
It is in our genetic make-up to see the other side as lesser form, that their doctrine and belief is such that it is barely recognisable to us; and even in the spirit of togetherness, of putting aside petty squabbles over religion and borders, in the advancement of technology that could put humanity out into the stars or at least solve half the problems on our once beautiful planet, we still find ways to take sides and see ourselves annihilated rather than live under their dogma.
For those that take time out to see the film I.S.S. the surprising nature of how reflective the Science Fiction narrative speaks volumes of the distrust and immediacy of the breakdown of friendship can happen when the world below finally loses its collective mind, will elevate the understanding of what it takes to make an honest B movie to be considered a fitting main event.
In the art of showing destruction on a world-wide scale from the perspective of cohabitation and universal peace, Nick Shair brings an evaluation of the human conscious to the fore and asks the audience to act as a witness to the continuality of the human need to follow orders in the most insanity-driven of times and actions. As the three Americans and three Russians find themselves acting as a continuation which has devastated the world below, so the audience bears witness to the fall out as the six struggle with political identity and the blows to their working and personal relationships that have been built up during the course of the I.S.S.’s lifetime.
There have been some incredible so-called B-movies that have transcended the box they were placed in, ones that have the gift of understanding the art of filmmaking without having to explain the lack of sophistication attributed to the mainstream, and I.S.S. sits firmly among them, and with a terrific performance by Masha Mashkova in the role of Weronika Vetrov adding subtly of expression under the intense portrayal of love and fear, the film is to be viewed as a great watch, an thought-provoking and noteworthy document of how humanity regularly fails in even the most extremes of moments, but one that also offers a distant hope.
The world teeters on such possible moments, it is only be trusted in time we can see beyond the world of borders and suspicion in our fellow travellers.
Ian D. Hall