The film challenges its audience with difficult ethical questions to ponder long after the credits have stopped rolling.
(Courtesy of TADFF)
By Azalea Young
Robert Hloz isn’t new to the filmmaking game—he has already directed three projects, and his latest, Restore Point, is a fast-paced sci-fi thriller that keeps you intrigued in this world and these characters until the end. The film examines themes surrounding capitalism and even comments on the justice system. When the film concludes, the viewer is left with one important question: what will our own future look like?
Set in the year 2041 in Central Europe, we follow Agent Em (Andrea Mohylová), a detective on the police force who is investigating the terrorist attacks of a group called River of Life. They do not use or believe in the resurrection technology of Restore Point, which allows a person to come back to life if they have a backup version of themselves saved. People who use this technology have to back up every 48 hours to protect themselves from death.
When Em hears about the murders of David Kurlstat and his wife (Matej Hádek and Katarzyna Zawadzka), she is reassigned to that case and eventually comes to discover how the terrorist attacks and the couple’s deaths are intertwined. She finds out that David, a prominent researcher at Restore Point has come back to life via a saved backup of his brain and body from six months ago, and the investigation turns into a manhunt for his murderer, Viktor Toffer (Milan Ondrík).
When Em and David inevitably find Toffer, he reveals information about Restore Point that leads them to uncover the secrets the corporation keeps hidden. It appears that in a world where humanity has beaten death, there are still greater threats lurking.
The worldbuilding is reminiscent of other sci-fi cyberpunk-esque films but produces an original concept with the idea of the Restore Point system. For a film set in the year 2041, this world almost seems accessible today, even though it’s still 18 years away. The reasoning for this is simple. In an interview with CanCulture, Hloz said that he wants viewers to see the idea of this technology in its early stages.
“These first users are used as test subjects,” he said. “We wanted [the technology] to feel new, the same way it will feel new for the audience.” Hloz also adds that because he wanted the technology to feel very new, the time frame was potentially going to be earlier than 2041. “We were having discussions about whether [the film] should be even earlier, like maybe 2038, but it felt too close,” he said.
Besides fleshing out the technology, the characters are also fully developed, and each has their own ambitions and struggles. The main character, Em, is a character that demonstrates this very well. The audience can clearly see why she is invested in the crimes that have been happening, and how her past has played a large part in bringing her into the police field. The beginning of the film, in particular, shows the audience why she has become more reserved and quiet but puts on a strong facade. Her grief over the people she has lost is carried with her, and Mohylová does an excellent job of showing the audience this when interacting with characters like David, as they bond over the loss of his loved ones.
The film presents interesting questions about the value of life and death, and how they operate in this world. When asked about the technology’s ability to bypass death, Hloz talks about how the topic plays into the overarching message of the movie.
“Where is the boundary [between] how we should feel safe and how should we feel free?” He said. “It starts an interesting debate.”
Hloz adds that because of the technology people are simultaneously free but not free, since they spend so much time thinking about the system keeping them alive and restoring their backups to really enjoy much else.
“It gives you this amazing safety but at the same time, it takes away your freedom because it constantly reminds you that you can die at any moment, and you should do something against that,” he said. “It gives you this extra layer of stress.”
Since the Restore Point technology imposes a new set of rules for humanity, the themes that Hloz discusses here spark a compelling debate about how ethical this technology really is in the hands of humans. It’s up to viewers to decide for themselves where they stand on such a heavy question.
Restore Point presents a dark and immersive world not unlike our own, potentially giving us a glimpse into what our future can look like. It offers its audience the chance to become intrigued with its technology and new rules, putting a spin on classic dystopian and sci-fi films while giving us something unique. The end of the film also asks the audience to think about how our justice system works, and whether or not the conclusion for some of the characters is justified.
Although Restore Point is not as dramatic or fast-paced as others in the genre, it’s still a fun time if you’re looking for an adventurous movie that captivates you from the start and leaves you questioning your own mortality.