The year is 2267 and the ecosystem of earth has been completely destroyed, forcing the human race to live in orbit. It is a harsh life for most humans, however, there is another planet called RHEA, but only the wealthy can go there. RHEA is the paradise that everyone strives to visit. Laura Portmann (Anna Katharina Schwabroh) is no different. She also wants to move to RHEA, to live with her sister, but in order to get the money, Laura needs to make one last journey into space.
She is hired as a doctor aboard the spaceship Kassandra, an old ship that is going on a long journey to the faraway Proxima system. The ship carries materials that will allow the human race to explore and perhaps colonize foreign planets, perhaps finding a new and better home. The journey takes four years to the space station and four years to get back. It is a lonely journey, where the crew members take turn watching the ship while the rest have entered some sort of cryosleep.
After 3 years, the shift is Laura's. It is lonely to be the only waking member of the crew and every day looks much the same; she eats, trains and watch the spaceship. She is confined to a small area and is not allowed to enter the big cargo area. One night she hears something in the corridors, even sees shadows of something moving. She follows the shadows and soon finds herself down by the cargo
Cargo is slow and intimate. Too slow for some, without a doubt, but I kinda like this sort of pace. It is a stunning visual movie with a soundscape that keeps the viewer in suspense. From the very first glance at the orbit world (a strange pipe that constantly moves around and with buildings on the inside), we know that something is wrong with the world. People look like fugitives and this is in fact precisely what they are. Fugitives from Earth. Laura Portmann is one of them. She seems to be constantly watching the world around her, never truly interacting with it. She has a camera that she uses to record her thoughts, thoughts that are being sent to her sister on RHEA. However, being aboard Kassandra forces her to take part and perhaps even alter the world of the humans.
If I had to describe this movie using other movies as points of reference, I would say that in Cargo, Alien meets Matrix. The environments are dark and gloomy, containing flickering lights and cold steel. The visual side reminds me a lot about Alien and seems believable. The outside is a different matter, though. The spaceship is a little nondescript and does not really match the inside. We don't get a lot of images from the outside, and when we do, we are seeing the ship from behind as it moves further into space. I wont explain the Matrix reference, as you may not have seen the movie. If you have seen the movie, you might know where I am going with this.
Cargo is a classic science fiction movie. It explores themes as humanity, desolation, and isolation. (edit: removed space exploration as a theme, because honestly, there isn't much of this) The movie isn't focused on new technology, but does presents new views on old ideas (like cryosleep and the classic space yetpack). I especially liked the interior of the Cargo area. It is vast, unpredictable and very dangerous. In a way, this area becomes one of the characters in the movie.
Don't watch this movie with the expectation of seeing great acting. The only complex character here is Laura, and she isn't all that complex when you give it some thought. The rest are just along for the ride and a little archetypical (but in a bad way). Watch this movie if you like to explore space and love a good science fiction horror movie in the vein of Alien and Event Horizon. Cargo is not bloody, but it does try to keep the viewer on the edge of his seat. It succeeds fairly well at that, but the ending is a little muddy. When I say muddy, what I really want to say is; the ending is a little forced and there is too much going on, too many threads to connect.
She is hired as a doctor aboard the spaceship Kassandra, an old ship that is going on a long journey to the faraway Proxima system. The ship carries materials that will allow the human race to explore and perhaps colonize foreign planets, perhaps finding a new and better home. The journey takes four years to the space station and four years to get back. It is a lonely journey, where the crew members take turn watching the ship while the rest have entered some sort of cryosleep.
After 3 years, the shift is Laura's. It is lonely to be the only waking member of the crew and every day looks much the same; she eats, trains and watch the spaceship. She is confined to a small area and is not allowed to enter the big cargo area. One night she hears something in the corridors, even sees shadows of something moving. She follows the shadows and soon finds herself down by the cargo
Cargo is slow and intimate. Too slow for some, without a doubt, but I kinda like this sort of pace. It is a stunning visual movie with a soundscape that keeps the viewer in suspense. From the very first glance at the orbit world (a strange pipe that constantly moves around and with buildings on the inside), we know that something is wrong with the world. People look like fugitives and this is in fact precisely what they are. Fugitives from Earth. Laura Portmann is one of them. She seems to be constantly watching the world around her, never truly interacting with it. She has a camera that she uses to record her thoughts, thoughts that are being sent to her sister on RHEA. However, being aboard Kassandra forces her to take part and perhaps even alter the world of the humans.
If I had to describe this movie using other movies as points of reference, I would say that in Cargo, Alien meets Matrix. The environments are dark and gloomy, containing flickering lights and cold steel. The visual side reminds me a lot about Alien and seems believable. The outside is a different matter, though. The spaceship is a little nondescript and does not really match the inside. We don't get a lot of images from the outside, and when we do, we are seeing the ship from behind as it moves further into space. I wont explain the Matrix reference, as you may not have seen the movie. If you have seen the movie, you might know where I am going with this.
Cargo is a classic science fiction movie. It explores themes as humanity, desolation, and isolation. (edit: removed space exploration as a theme, because honestly, there isn't much of this) The movie isn't focused on new technology, but does presents new views on old ideas (like cryosleep and the classic space yetpack). I especially liked the interior of the Cargo area. It is vast, unpredictable and very dangerous. In a way, this area becomes one of the characters in the movie.
Don't watch this movie with the expectation of seeing great acting. The only complex character here is Laura, and she isn't all that complex when you give it some thought. The rest are just along for the ride and a little archetypical (but in a bad way). Watch this movie if you like to explore space and love a good science fiction horror movie in the vein of Alien and Event Horizon. Cargo is not bloody, but it does try to keep the viewer on the edge of his seat. It succeeds fairly well at that, but the ending is a little muddy. When I say muddy, what I really want to say is; the ending is a little forced and there is too much going on, too many threads to connect.