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DVD Description
2267 and Earth has become almost uninhabitable due to environmental deterioration. The human race now populates overcrowded space stations orbiting the planet, whilst dreaming of being able to afford the trip to live on the paradise-like planet Rhea. Desperate to raise the money for the trip so she can reunite with her family Dr Laura Portmann (Anna-Katherine Schwabroh) signs up for a job aboard the cargo ship Kassandra, on an 8 year trip to a space station in Rhea’s orbit. On board, each crew member spends much of the voyage in hibernation, each waking for a solitary 8 month shift monitoring the ships operations. Nearing the end of her vigil, Laura begins to suspect she may be being watched, and hearing sounds from within the hold of the ship. Along with security chief Samuel Decker (Martin Rapold) she awakens the captain and the rest of the crew to investigate the dark recesses of the cargo bay. Gruesome discoveries are soon made and fractures appear in the crew’s relationships, then Laura and Decker uncover Kassandra’s true destination and what secret cargo she carries…. Compelling, artistic and chilling, Cargo was the closing film of the 2010 Sci-Fi London Film Festival.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
Cargo begins with our heroine applying for a cargo run in the year 2267 to one of the furthest & deepest space stations humans possess, Station 42. The crew will spend the majority of the time in stasis waking up periodically to take their turn on an 8 1/2 month watch shift. In 8 years time, Dr Laura Portmann (Anna-Katharina Schwabroh) will have enough money to escape the over-crowded space stations that currently support humanity and buy her way to Rhea - a habitable planet, much like earth used to be. However, when the crew find out that they are not alone on the ship, their suspicions of each other start to tear them apart...
Cargo is an excellent film, although it is filmed in German, the dialogue is terse and sporadic and the subtitles more than compensate for the language. What struck me about this film was just how atmospheric it was, I found myself holding my breath at one or two points in the film, frozen in suspense. The mark of an excellent film in my view. I have never been so afraid of a simple shot of a door (The broken bulkhead door between the ship and the cargo containers) and the long panning shots of the gate only heighten the tension. The interior is very reminscent of A Space Odyssey and even some of the outside scenes follow on, with some extremely retro space-suits and great panning arcs of the ship. The premise of a stow-away sabotaging the ship is similar to Sunshine and the neuro-networks are straight out of The Matrix. So whilst there isn't much orginality to any of the plot elements, their unique combination and brilliant direction from Swiss director Ivan Engler means that this film comes together as something really special.
The Blu-Ray version is unparalelled, crisp quality scenes of great interior sets, some of the exterior shots of the ship and the stations are just incredible. Highly Recommended!!
Cargo is an excellent film, although it is filmed in German, the dialogue is terse and sporadic and the subtitles more than compensate for the language. What struck me about this film was just how atmospheric it was, I found myself holding my breath at one or two points in the film, frozen in suspense. The mark of an excellent film in my view. I have never been so afraid of a simple shot of a door (The broken bulkhead door between the ship and the cargo containers) and the long panning shots of the gate only heighten the tension. The interior is very reminscent of A Space Odyssey and even some of the outside scenes follow on, with some extremely retro space-suits and great panning arcs of the ship. The premise of a stow-away sabotaging the ship is similar to Sunshine and the neuro-networks are straight out of The Matrix. So whilst there isn't much orginality to any of the plot elements, their unique combination and brilliant direction from Swiss director Ivan Engler means that this film comes together as something really special.
The Blu-Ray version is unparalelled, crisp quality scenes of great interior sets, some of the exterior shots of the ship and the stations are just incredible. Highly Recommended!!
52 of 56 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Cargo is an unusual science fiction film - a throwback to the 'serious', ideas-led SF cinema that almost died in the 1970s with the advent of Star Wars. A Swiss production with a cast who will be unknown to most British viewers, it makes the most of a small budget, with excellent special effects that are easily the equal of their Hollywood equivalents. The opening sequence of the space station in near-Earth orbit is particularly impressive. The director works hard to give a sense of what it would be like to find oneself among virtual strangers in deep space when things start to go wrong, but inevitably the cargo ship Kassandra echoes the visual design of earlier films - particularly the dark, wet, empty hangars and storage spaces of Alien's Nostromo. This may arouse expectations that the film does not fulfil - this is not a 'creature feature'. Nor does director Ivan Engler possess Ridley Scott's ability to fill those dark spaces with dread.
Unfortunately, Cargo has shortcomings in other areas. The plot - a sort of futurist eco-thriller - is not particularly original. This wouldn't matter if it were worked out less predictably: but most viewers will have guessed what is really happening long before the 'revelations'. This problem is compounded by what seems to be an error of pacing, in which the central plot device is revealed too early. As a result, the final section of the film has the feel of a series of dramatic incidents tacked on at the last moment to compensate for the absence of real tension.
The acting is competent, with no real standouts. The dialogue - in German with English subtitles - is a barrier to engagement for those who don't speak German, but the subtitles are literate and seem accurate. This is just as well, because there are a lot of dour conversations between people who don't know each other well and are suspicious of each other's motives.
The main difficulty for viewers reared on Hollywood cinema is likely to be the film's relatively slow pace, emotional coolness and absence of dramatic fireworks. This realism places Cargo in line of descent from Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, although the new film lacks the originality and intellectual daring that made 2001 so refreshing. For some, however, it will be an attraction to find an intelligent science fiction film that doesn't depend on explosions, heavy weaponry and gore for its effects.
Unfortunately, Cargo has shortcomings in other areas. The plot - a sort of futurist eco-thriller - is not particularly original. This wouldn't matter if it were worked out less predictably: but most viewers will have guessed what is really happening long before the 'revelations'. This problem is compounded by what seems to be an error of pacing, in which the central plot device is revealed too early. As a result, the final section of the film has the feel of a series of dramatic incidents tacked on at the last moment to compensate for the absence of real tension.
The acting is competent, with no real standouts. The dialogue - in German with English subtitles - is a barrier to engagement for those who don't speak German, but the subtitles are literate and seem accurate. This is just as well, because there are a lot of dour conversations between people who don't know each other well and are suspicious of each other's motives.
The main difficulty for viewers reared on Hollywood cinema is likely to be the film's relatively slow pace, emotional coolness and absence of dramatic fireworks. This realism places Cargo in line of descent from Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, although the new film lacks the originality and intellectual daring that made 2001 so refreshing. For some, however, it will be an attraction to find an intelligent science fiction film that doesn't depend on explosions, heavy weaponry and gore for its effects.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Cargo is the latest in a slew of sci-fi films that tackle the ideas of claustraphobia, realism and surrealism at times. I mean just check out the tagline for this and then the one for 'Pandorum'. The things that Cargo lacks are a sense of originality. You feel you're being given a meal you've had yesterday but this time it hasn't been cooked as well. The acting is also only passable and the characters seem very cookie-cutter. The film is also shy on big twists as most of them can be expected and towards the end, the director threw in some artsy filters over scenes making them hyperreal and they ended up looking dumb . However Cargo does have its good points. No.1 is the atmosphere it creates. At times, it has some real tension mainly in the begining and you can feel yourself being sucked into the world it constructs itself but what really makes the film interesting to watch is the visuals. For a micro-budget film, the effects guys really outdid themselves and despite the films lack of action, some of the space-shuttle scenes are truly breathtaking minus the odd dodgy CGI shot that slips through.
All in all a worthy entry that had a similar feel to Dante 01. and a nice foray by the Swiss into sci-fi. Could have been better though.
All in all a worthy entry that had a similar feel to Dante 01. and a nice foray by the Swiss into sci-fi. Could have been better though.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Interesting German Science Fiction
An okay film, with a good story, but its appearance looks low budget. Still, I enjoyed watching it. Just try not to compare it to higher budget films such as 'Pandorum'. Read more
Published 12 days ago by Liam Mariscotti
ZZZZZZZZz
I dont know how much it cost to make this film but I imagine it was made on a credit card. Well it came across that way. Read more
Published 28 days ago by Diane
OK this takes time to get into but it is worth it
Point 1. Star Wars or Star Trek this is not - so if you are after a bit of cheap escapism look else where
Point 2. Read more
Point 2. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Rickath
Well worth watching
Actually much better than I expected it to be, the subtitles are well done and dont detract or distract from everything else onscreen. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Phil Beynon
Nice SF and good acting
Our heroine, a doctor, takes a job on a vessel bound for deep space. Everyone hibernates. The crew take shifts to watch over the vessel. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Dragon
Sci Fi Swiss Style
I have to be open at the start of this review and say that I do like me a bit of science fiction; therefore any film in the genre is likely to get the Sammy Bonus Bump of... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Sam
1st class SciFi
This is a very good film. SciFi is my favourite genre in movies and I was a little apprehensive that I might of wasted my money, on a film that to me was virtually unknown. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Terence Mclaughlin
Provocative and claustrophobic..
This is at face value a somewhat formulaic science fiction film - several people in the claustrophobic confines of a ship in deep space gradully being whittled down by an 'unseen... Read more
Published 2 months ago by G. G. Buxton Smither
"I thought we were transporting construction material....."
Science-Fiction films often try to capture a great opening shot, one which inspires awe and establishes the epic nature of the story. Read more
Published 4 months ago by GeekZilla
Doctor Needed For Deep Space Journey!
Cargo is a very well made claustraphobic and tense sci fi movie. I can't fault the film at all. I loved the film score, the cast, the special effects and the plot. Read more
Published 4 months ago by j.r
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