Nicholas
Sparks can’t top this message in a bottle. Scientists have developed a method
of H.G. Wells-style time travel, so the first human test subject will travel
back to the pre-historic era, hopefully to leave a message for the research
team in the fossil records. Essentially, the time traveler will become the fossil.
It was a mission Dr. Maria Lin volunteered for, but she might possibly start to
develop feelings for the man chosen instead in Eric McEver’s short film Paleonaut (trailer here), which screens
during the 2017 Other Worlds Austin SciFi Film Festival.
There
might be a future in our past. If the so-called “Paleonaut” can successfully
adapt to pre-human living conditions, it could open the door to colonization of
the past, from the environmentally doomed near-future. Apparently, they are not
worried about Butterfly Effects or Prime Directives, because desperate times
call for desperate measures.
Unfortunately,
Dr. Lin is too valuable as a team member to send her back in time, but Kai is
pretty disposable. Indeed, he seems to have nothing tying him down to the
present day. Yet, as the shy Dr. Lin trains the socially awkward Kai, they come
to like and respect each other—and maybe even something more.
Any
jerk who says science fiction cannot be emotionally engaging should watch Paleonaut and then grovel for forgiveness.
It is a beautiful but finely nuanced film that suggests so much through hints
and implications, yet it is epochal in its sweep. McEver takes a mammoth-sized
big-picture-idea and examines it from a distinctly individual and intimate
perspective.
Of
course, he has a huge advantage in his remarkable lead, the uncannily expressive
Tomoko Hayakawa, who can truly break your heart while lucidly explaining the
principles of paleontology. Plus, she forges some acutely potent chemistry with
Yasushi Takada’s Kai. He is also terrific and terrifically subtle portraying the
standoffish Kai as he slowly comes out of his shell around her.
Paleonaut was shot on
location at various Chinese research institutions and science museums, so it
has a totally legit science fiction look. Genre fans will definitely respect
its intelligence, but the central relationship makes Paleonaut accessible to anyone who enjoys a good tale of star-crossed
romance. Very highly recommended, Paleonaut
screens this Sunday (12/10) as part of the Scifi Shorts: Paradox of Choice programming block, at this year’s
Other Worlds Austin.