Many things they set up just get abandoned, like the safe scene. It would've been fine as a background to our characters moving along the story. The dialogue is fine, the acting is done well, some of the scenes are memorable, but they cannot exist outside of an actual story. I thought there would be a twist, and I would've appreciated even an unoriginal one. Up to around 50 minutes into the film, I didn't see any problems with it whatsoever. Men are the scourge not only of the Earth but Mars as well. So we don't need to know who these people are, why they are on Mars, and what is going on in general. Thus, they don't really care if you buy the whole Mars thing with the breathable atmosphere (inside a magic dome), a huge Earth in the sky, messed up gravity, perfect plants, vegetables, cloning pigs from a single specimen, etc. It's just another basic metaphor for growing up and moving into adult life. They set up a mystery but then abandon it because there is nothing there. This is why we are not given any details whatsoever, just a vague explanation of what supposedly is going on. There is a setting, but there is no story. This is mostly done to ensure critical acclaim and some film festival awards. I've seen this done before, 'The Power (2021)', 'For All Mankind' (2019), 'Shadow in the Cloud' (2020), 'Amulet' (2020) are good examples of this. You take popular social and political ideas and try to disguise your empty shell of a film as a horror or a thriller with sci-fi elements. 'Settlers' follows a formula that is quite popular these days. After a lot of senseless death, the movie came to an end and I can't point out what it was all truly about. Most of them are briefly touched and then the film moves on. It's about a man trying to protect his family, a man trying to reclaim his home, a woman doing whatever is necessary to protect her daughter, the need for human companionship, the desire to have a family, it's also somewhat of a coming of age story, probably more. But the issue is not that it's slow, it's that there is no deeper meaning to it, plus it lacks focus and a central theme. The movie is very slow, no doubt about it, boring at times even though there are sections with tension. The story is split in 3 chapters with the 3rd being the longest and most interesting. It takes place in practically 1 location and a couple of sets. It is a low budget film with a small cast and great performances. It's the director's first feature length film, it is well shot and it looks great. It just takes place on a different planet because it is convenient for the story.
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