I love cinema, and as a lover of cinema, I like to believe I'm pretty open when it comes to the art of filmmaking. While I, like most everyone, have genre favorites and least favorites, I try to view and appreciate selections from each (well, besides porn). Regardless of the genre, however, there rarely comes a time when a film "wows" me - meaning a film significantly impacts me on a mental or an emotional level (or both), to the point of goosebumps and my mind being unable to shift its attention away from the viewing for several hours or even days. Well, this happened to me recently while viewing the 2016 French film, Evolution, and I felt the need to sing its praises.
Here's a summary of the film, posted on movie-review site, Rotten Tomatoes:
"10-year-old Nicolas lives with his mother on a remote island, in a village inhabited by women and young boys. In a hospital overlooking the ocean, all the boys are subjected to a strange medical treatment. Only Nicolas questions what is happening around him. He senses that his mother is lying to him, and is determined to find out what she does with the other women at night, on the beach. What he discovers is the beginning of a nightmare into which he is helplessly drawn. But in Stella, a young nurse at the hospital, Nicolas finds an unexpected ally."
"10-year-old Nicolas lives with his mother on a remote island, in a village inhabited by women and young boys. In a hospital overlooking the ocean, all the boys are subjected to a strange medical treatment. Only Nicolas questions what is happening around him. He senses that his mother is lying to him, and is determined to find out what she does with the other women at night, on the beach. What he discovers is the beginning of a nightmare into which he is helplessly drawn. But in Stella, a young nurse at the hospital, Nicolas finds an unexpected ally."
In the end, I see Evolution as a creepy, twisted parallel on growing up, as envisioned through the eyes of a child. The film often centers its attention around the issues of: Power, trust, curiosity, and rebellion. The children are told by authority figures to take their medicine without question, to undergo screenings and procedures without so much as a peep. When they do speak up out of curiosity, they're punished. The world remains a mystery, and even as their curiosities expand, they're often shielded from expanding their knowledge on these particular subjects. There are times they want to feel free, to escape their world of limited freedom, yet in the end, even as they run from the hospital, they're greeted by the ocean. There are times they wonder if they'll ever be released from the hospital and be able to live life like the adults they see on a daily basis. It's not until the end we see the true potential in freedom, the evolution from childhood to adulthood.
Evolution tells a story which has most certainly been told before, but in a far different manner than I've personally ever seen. The filmmakers provide a creepy, almost haunting atmosphere throughout, as the adults and children see one another as alien lifeforms - the adult world seeming mysterious to the kids and the child world seeming almost forgotten to the adults. While the character development is minimal, the film tells a story any and everyone can related to in one manner or another, as we are all bounded by questions in the early portion of our lives; rebel to expand our horizons, feel a sense of power, and learn; only to fully evolve in the end. While Evolution certainly isn't a film for everyone, I highly recommend lovers of French/foreign/independent cinema to give it a chance. Evolution is a powerful film, which, if given a chance, won't be forgotten.
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