Proxima

• Directed By: Carlos Atanes
• Written By: Carlos Atanes
• Country: Spain
• Running Time: 116 minutes
• Links: Official Site
• Reviews, Science Fiction

There are some films that are so full of concepts, that are packed with reality-bending twists that the sheer rush of ideas and the enthusiasm of the filmmaking is enough, on its own, to hold your attention for the whole of the film. Not only is Proxima is just such a film, but it’s also a very good piece of cinema in its own right.

The plot centres on Tony (Oriol Aubets), a man for whom things are not going too well. His relationship with his live-in girlfriend is failing fast, due in no small part to the fact that he’d rather play video games than spend time with his in-laws. His video shop, which is funded by his father in law, is also on its last legs. The shop specialises in science fiction films, from silent classics to modern b-movies, has some very loyal customers but nowhere near enough to break even. As a result, Tony takes the decision to wind up the business even though he has no idea what he will do next.

If the previous paragraph hadn’t made this abundantly clear, Tony is a science fiction fan and one who takes the genre seriously, regardless of the medium. It is no surprise, therefore, when the news that a nationally recognised science fiction novelist, Felix Cadecq (Manel Solás) will be eschewing his usual reclusiveness in order to speak at an SF convention, guarantees that Tony will also be attending.

Although Tony has already had a couple of odd experiences, it’s at the conference that things really start to become strange. Felix uses his speech to announce that he is abandoning writing, that science fiction has been superseded by reality and that he is in contact with aliens. Most of the audience react in much the way you would expect when faced with a crank, but Tony is intrigued enough to pick up a copy of the author’s CD, and to try to follow the advice.

From here on in, things become increasingly surreal and it is a real tribute to Oriol Aubets’ performance that he keeps you engaged with the narrative as it twists and reverses its way through the middle part of the film. This strength of Aubets’ performance, combined with the character of Tony, really does hold things together as the film throws out so many revelations, conceptual twists and reversals so that you are kept very much in the dark as to how reliable a narrator Tony is.

He may be delusional, brainwashed, a member of a UFO cult, a victim or he may actually be onto something. Beneath all of this, Tony is very much a drifting everyman (and a bit of a geek, which helps) and someone with whom it is easy to identify. It’s this essential ordinariness of the main character that makes the film is so effective when it delves, very deeply, into Dickian themes of identity and reality.

Visually, Proxima is a stunning film to look at. Whether Tony’s travels are taking place in reality or in his mind, the alien landscapes he encounters are strikingly well realised and really do feel out of this world. This visual sense is apparent long before Tony reaches outer (or inner) space. Although the film is very clearly set in the present day, even the more mundane settings – particularly Tony’s video shop and the abandoned church at which he finds a UFO cult – are well used and provide an excellent visual counterpoint to the events.

Proxima is very much a film for the literate SF fan. Although it has some flaws, the narrative is both effective and disorientating. The cast put in consistently strong performances and this, combined with both the visual feel of the film as well as the sheer volume of ideas and conceptual twists with which it is packed not only keeps you engaged throughout, but is also enough bring you back to the film, many times over.