In roughly fifteen years, due to the hands of man, the world will be mostly water. England will cease to exist and as we bubble underneath the Atlantic, we will be mocked by our Scottish brethren as they stand atop their Highlands. Thanks to climate change the Earth’s sudden, yet inevitable betrayal, will coat our lands with inches of water and unless we learn how to swim or grow blubber (us fatties already a level ahead of keeping warm, thank you,) we’ll all be long gone. So it’s natural that film-makers have explored the futuristic deep to different levels of success including that awful dreadful piece, Water World.
Coming to Asia House Film Festival, however, is NUOC 2030 coming all the way from Vietnam.
NUOC 2030 is a sublime visual feast that brings Vietnamese beauty to our screens. The troubled seas lap into one another, pushing a wave of blues intricately into our spectrums and it bubbles with this gorgeousness. A lighter blue seems to coax around the more romantic parts while deeper and darker tones match the opined. The sun-soaked water that captures the spiralling rays beating down all feel evocative. Director Ngheim-Minh coaxes out the most beautiful elemental scenery that toils with the emotions of the film. Horizons and the deep colours all make the film terrific to watch as your eyes are treated to a picturesque film.
NUOC 2030 is no doubt a vivid film. There is ingenuity in the initial premise and Ngheim-Minh’s still should be praised for his sterling effort. However, the diluting of the story is ultimately its drawback. NOUC 2030 is drib and, ironically, dry - becoming a predictable festival entry film rather than a fully developed film. It suffers from the timing, lingering too much on shots and moments just to hear the water bouncing against inanimate object. For a time, that is completely lovely. But it quickly becomes boring. It’s good but the idea was great and the final film should’ve matched.
And hey, at least it’s not Water World.
Asia House Film Festival kicks off this weekend and you can buy tickets here.