Even before the technological boom that marked the beginning of the 21st century, SF literature and cinema anticipated a possible total alienation of humanity because of the uncontrollable addiction to new gadgets. However, if films such as ‘Her’ still seem the projection of a relatively distant future, there are enough films that, although apparently adopting the elements of a dystopia, authentically render the soul dysfunctions of the contemporaneity subjugated by the technological demon. ‘Farewell to the Ark‘ is one of the excellent examples that genuinely portray this existential crisis of the modern humans, sick and tired of the concrete reality, who isolate in virtual worlds being unable to express their own desires. In spite of the sensitive theme that challenges the imminence of a global scourge whose purpose may be the extinction of humanity itself, director Yi-Feng Chang offers in his short film a true panorama of the great Asian cities in whose underground there is still hope for general rehabilitation. Thus, this project also succeeds in shocking and touching our hearts, impressing with its visual suggestiveness that attests the creative maturity of a director with remarkable potential.
Even though the narrative thread of this short film defies the general patterns of films intended to the general public, the emotional dispossession of the characters succeeds in materializing a harsh and magnetic universe. Therefore, although the destinies of the three characters appear to have a cumbersome and implosive evolution that strangles the viewer through long moments of mutism accompanied by keyboard sounds, the latent emotional conflict generated by the incompatibility of the individual with the norms of objective reality gains a sort of disturbing concreteness. Protagonists are addicted to video games, take shelter in their room, being isolated either in total inactivity, or in music or dance as a surrogate form of communication. The screens are everywhere, they have penetrated the biological mechanism of people who prefer to write (often using a nickname) rather than interacting directly. And what’s even more terrifying is that this short film doesn’t talk about an uncertain future, but about an x-ray of our present.
It is hard to say if the director’s main purpose is to create a critique of the present society or a declaration of love addressed to that unaltered nucleus of humanity that has the intimate conviction of a rescue revival. However, regardless of the spectator’s response, Yi-Feng Chang’s film offers an intense, technically impeccable experience. ‘Farewell to the Ark’ is not only a successful visual experiment in which concrete reality and the virtual world merge into an indissociable entity, but also a painful chronicle about the near-malicious technology fascination and the fragility of the contemporary human soul.
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