A deep introspection on the state of humanity

Rating: 9/10 (13 April 2020)

Blade Runner 2049 is a masterpiece of cinema. A rare film that brings together all the uncertain elements of filmmaking into a cohesive whole, that leaves you in wonder of the artistry, satisfied by the story and deeply reflective on questions that we ask ourselves in the dead of night; what is it to be human?
FYI, there will be spoilers, so if you want to watch the film, I'd recommend you do that before reading further.
Set in a dystopian future where humanity is at its lowest depravity, the environment is destroyed and a rich few seem to have it all (not relatable at all), it follows the story of a synthetic Blade Runner - an assassin who specifically targets rogue robots - who uncovers a miracle: a robot who was born and not made. K, the Blade Runner, is put on a mission to find and destroy (or 'retire') this child to avert a possible uprising from robots around the world who are led to believe that they are soulless and lesser than humans. Everything that K discovers leads him to believe that he is this miraculous child, a discovery that seems to frighten him but also confirm something that he's always felt. This is until he is told that the child was female. The revelation that he is not 'the one' or the miracle crushes him. He had started to believe that he was equal to humanity, that he was real, that possibly, he had a soul. To compound his state of desolation, at this point in the story he had lost everything; his job, his place in society and the woman he loved. He had every excuse to fall into despair and anger, but he chose something that demonstrated his humanity in a way that being 'the one' never could: he chose to act on what he felt was true. He chose. The most significant ability granted to humanity, the ability of free-will.
The movie brilliantly exposes how we measure and judge who we are 'humane' with, what love is and how someone who is seemingly an average 'Joe', the name he adopted once he thought he was a real person, can make grand choices that align to what you feel rather that what you're told you are. This film is a beautiful philosophical and scientific exploration of the human condition and I give it full credit for what it achieves. However, there is an aspect to humanity that the filmmakers flirted with, but didn't quite have the courage to explore: soul.
There are a few brief lines in the movie that referenced the main difference between machine and human as one having a soul while the other doesn't. They are throwaway lines however, dismissing this connection to something greater. Which isn't a critique. This is reflective of humanity. We do dismiss this connection to something greater. However, what the film fails to achieve is to impart a sense of what this aspect of our being really is and how it's impulse supports us to choose what is truly good in our world. Instead, you are imparted with the same emotional attachments that are always delivered through an artistic medium. That we all fight and crave for something real and we'll do whatever it takes to satisfy that need. That what we can feel emotionally is the greatest expression of being human, whereas the soul, the true embodiment of who we are, will deliver love and only love to everyone equally. It doesn't need any of that, for it is complete already and will only ever move for the purpose of all and never for itself.
Despite this, the actions that K, or Joe, decides to make at the end is quite inspirational, and perhaps what is needed in our current paradigm. He doesn't align with the synthetic resistance, nor does he align to being less than human, but he aligns to what he feels is right because nothing else in his world does feel right. This is an important step in being human because by claiming what you know, feel and trust is true you start to build a greater foundation and strength in who you are and what you value. And if you don't do that, then what are you? A person programmed to be a robot.
You won't leave the film feeling a fiery connection to yourself and to everyone in the world, in fact you feel a sort of masochistic indulgence in the consciousness of self sacrifice and the terrible state humanity is in. There is also a pervasive sexuality that I feel lowers it's quality and one scene is so viscerally horrifying towards women and their sacredness that I had to stop the movie for a moment. But despite that, it is a worthwhile film with glimmering impresses of wisdom speckled throughout, that a discerning viewer may start questioning the way things are and whether or not they have to be that way.