Movie Details
ADVANTAGEOUS (2015)
Director-: Jennifer Phang
Cast-Jacqueline Kim, James Urbaniak, Freya Adams, Ken Jeong, Jennifer Ehle, and Samantha Kim
Movie type- Sci-fi/Comedy
Release date-26 th January 2015
IMDB Rating-6.1
Languages- English and French
Duration-1 Hour 30 Minutes
Trailer
Synopsis
Looking at the example of Advantageous from 2015, I have no doubt about it. Jennifer Phang – director – and Jacqueline Kim – actress – who also wrote the script for the film, created together a very quiet and emotional film, focusing on the inner experiences of the heroine lost in a futuristic world. And in the case of science fiction, this is the type of cinema that is hard to find today.
Distributed by Netflix, Advantageous is a very fresh, feminine approach to issues typical of the science fiction tradition. The theme of the film is best explained by the main character’s words in one of the scenes. Although you have to wait a long time for them, they make it easier to understand the idea that the filmmakers were guided by. So, to paraphrase and simplify – imagine, dear reader, that you have a deformed leg and for forty years your problem every day is taking steps correctly. Now imagine that on your 50th birthday you get the opportunity to dance… A miracle? NO. Possibilities of future surgery? Nothing could be further from the truth. This is the result of an invention that allows… the transfer of consciousness to another body.
Following the voice of fantasy creators, we can conclude that Descartes was clearly wrong when he said that thinking is equivalent to being. The future holds surprising, much more ambiguous solutions. The essence of our self, its origin and functionality are among the philosophical dilemmas that science fiction, or more precisely, cyberpunk, likes to explore. Recently, however, not much good has been done on the subject, as it is difficult to consider the bombastic Transcendence as a top-shelf example. Advantageous is a different quality. Literally translating the title of the film, the future presented by the creators appears to be extremely favorable, as it will be possible to abandon the old body, along with all its imperfections, in favor of a new host. But this is only an appearance, because, as you probably guessed, there is a snag in this procedure, as the heroine will painfully discover. However, as a single mother, she must take risks if she wants to give her daughter a better future.
And this is where the strength of Jennifer Phang ‘s film lies . Instead of lavish decorations and gadgets complementing the image of a futuristic world, the low-budget Advantageous puts man and his dilemmas at the center . The director takes a closer look at the heroine, whom fate has put against the wall, wondering at the same time how much of her drama is the result of social barriers and how much of it is the choices she makes. In this case, the science fiction context is only a background, a distorting mirror leading to the present. And paradoxically, this is why the future presented in the film is so credible. There is neither the slightest bit of pushiness nor the slightest bit of falsehood. The feedback I received during the screening was sadness. I don’t remember the last time I was so concerned about the fate of a lost woman, in this case crushed by the weight of both the existing, unfavorable circumstances and the culture rushing towards the future.
What is also valuable about Advantageous is that the film does not provide the viewer with ready-made answers to questions. It is rather an invitation to reflection, an open page ready to be written down. In the film, philosophical reflection on consciousness meets sociology by examining the position of women in the modern world. There is also a voice about corporeality, how closely it interacts with our identity, directly influencing it. Most importantly, the integration of these messages is presented to Advantageous in an extremely subtle and… beneficial way. Because with sensitivity and heart.
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