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GattacaGattaca is a prime example of the retro science fiction. Which is to say that the look and the feel of the movie are strongly reminiscent of the '40s and '50s flicks. I liked that part well enough but it is the plot that makes Gattaca one of the most thought-provoking movies that came out of the Nineties. Review by SAndman
Writer and Director: Andrew Niccol Cast: Released: 1997 Vincent Freeman: I belonged to a new underclass, no longer determined by social status or the color of your skin. No, we now have discrimination down to a science.
The two brothers grow up and get treated each according to his status. Vincent is the obvious underdog whereas his sibling Anton is raised the family's favorite. Vincent wants to become an astronaut and all he gets for his ambition is being told by his parents to mind his place. In a world where your DNA chart counts for more than your personal merits Vincent decides to beat the system at its favorite game.
The movie raises the issues of biological determinism and free will. It is also a movie about human fixation with perfection. Plus, it deals with the all too familiar situation of what happens when scientists set out to make a superhuman and when the end product that comes out of the test tube somehow does not quite fit the bill. Although there are no apparent scenes of state perpetrated violence and oppression, the atmosphere of the movie is claustrophobic enough. However, there are also examples of friendship and loyalty in the movie. For all the uniformity forced on them by the standard of the day, the characters time and time again reveal very human urges and anxieties. You will find some of the tenderest moments in the movie. For instance, the beautiful scene in which Vincent shows Iris that what he feels for her is not predicated upon her genetic make-up; or one of the last scene in which two brothers dare each other to a swim in the ocean. Or the scene in which the company doctor Lamar, played by Xander Berkeley, owns up in a remarkably low-key and yet emotionally powerful last encounter with Vincent. I remember when I was in the 5th or 6th grade I had a very demanding P.E. teacher. I don't know what it was that I had done or what I had failed to do but one day he showed me up in front of the whole class. He said something to the effect that of all the kids in my class I was the one least likely to become an athlete. I guess back in those days P.E. teachers felt they had to be especially tough on kids. I don`t think he felt he was doing anything outside the norm. Be that as it may, I know that for years on I refused to take part in anything that even remotely resembled a sporting activity. I went through elementary school, high school, college-no sports!Until finally in my late twenties I took up running. Every now and then when I finish a stretch I think of that P.E. teacher. Now that I am a teacher I make sure I never tell my students what they cannot do. We often discuss movies, my students and I. Though I try to keep my fandom outside classroom I consistently recommend Gattaca to them. The most important lesson they can take from Gattaca is that the biggest impediments are not those which are imposed from the outside but those which we impose on ourselves. Dystopian Movies
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