Beautiful like the Systin Chapel

Rating: 10/10 (17 January 2001)

A leap of fantasy into the future: a lone voyager observes astonished the dark rainy skies of a futuristic LA brilliantly represented as China Town in NY. Difficult to summarize the inspiration behind Harrison Ford's character Blade Runner: perhaps Michelangelo, Joyce, and Homer. After the movie is over, a few things stay with you: the doubtful, puzzled expression of Harrison Ford, Homerun hero plunged into the future; dozens of open-ended expressions and quotes from the movie; the gothic atmosphere; the Michelangeaolesque glowing astonishingly enormous Geishas made of pixels waving from above the dark skies. And the lovely replicants, sensible souls captured in synthetic yet perfect and beautiful bodies. If you grew up in the eighties, you will recognize Siouxie in one of them. The movie is a prism, and the story is enrapturing. It takes concentration, and a mature, sober mind. I personally watched it the first time while I was a stoned 14 years old, and couldn't understand anything about it. I had to watch it again and again before slapping my forehead for not having understood before what a masterpiece it is. Harrison Ford is the reluctant agent chosen to capture 5 replicants escaped from a far away colony, where they were sent to conquer land for the swarming terrestrials. The replicants are perfect imitation of humans, and are programmed to last only a number of years. But these have decided to rebel to their programmed destiny. As Harrison Ford begins to inquire further and deeper, he understands that the fear of these replicants is in fact human. Living in fear. What an atrocious destiny that of the replicants. The dramatic final is perfectly cathartic in that salvation and optimism lies in one established uncontroversial truth: technology.