Mars. Named after the Roman god of war is a satellite that glows orange when seen in the night sky. This red oasis that we as a species have coveted since antiquity, is much more than we see or we really know. Now in Wyatt Rockefeller SETTLERS, we are there to do more than explore. We are there to extract. Getting by farming its dusty surface and living like, well, farmhands from an aged western. Mars is seen as the most likely place in our universe that could hold our being and maybe become a second home of sorts to us. This would obviously be incredible but much is in the way to overcome. Riddled with issues of chemistry, Biology and even the physical distance from one place to another.
On the dusty surface, a pig farm has sported up within an oxygen shield. Its owner and operatoe is Reza (Jonny Lee Miller) and his wife Ilsa (Sofia Boutella). They are another pair of farmers just trying to get by. The problem is they are not alone. Yes they have their daughter Remmy (Brooklynn Prince ) with them but she is not the problem, more its the awful night time prowlers, They break in and paint LEAVE in blood on the window. After a shootout between Reza and one such prowler, things take a nasty turn indeed. Reza disappears. The night draws in and noises are hears in the distance. At dawn, a man appears. He claims the farm is his and he will kill to get it back.
Wayne Rockefeller divines rich seams from his screenplay for SETTLERS. Hard not to be impressed by such a thing. Now lets for a second divert from the functional direction, which is serviceable but lacks body. This is not to say its average, more it need lifts its register. I did wonder though if this was intentional. When we are challenged with a complex look at ownership, possession and value systems, we need to interact without prejudice. Often the more interesting the question, the more we need focus. So when we are asked ‘When we migrate somewhere, do we change it or does it us?’, we need focus on our expectations from this. A question like this, will become more regular as we travel the solar system but here it is framed timely and answered well. The central reason is the script. Tonally perfect, intelligent and the goal of developing Sofia Boutella character, allows answers from an actress with the range to give them. There are issues with the film but I loved that a wide spread theme in science fiction literature is finally approached as it should be.
It is the script that greets us with
