The idea that ancient astronauts gave the human race a running start in life is a pretty old one. There's nothing terribly new about that here, but what I find admirable is the economy of the filmed story. The actors are appealing, the winter-woodsy setting isn't distracting, and the central idea is simple and straightforward. Viewed symbolically, the film is effective: The almost trivial carelessness of one of the aliens denied us the magnificent heritage we should have had. Viewed literally, it's kind of silly -- after all, fire is common in nature -- but viewing the film literally is not what we're supposed to do. The ending of the film comes with a small shock, appropriately sized for this little film. The budget for this film was reportedly five hundred bucks Canadian, and that may have been overstated a bit, but in any case it was money well spent.
Review of The Shape of Things to Come
