Product: Idaho Transfer (1973)
Rating: 3.0
Did you like the message from the movie "Soylent Green?"
I'm not saying the movies "Soylent Green" and "Idaho Transfer" are of the same type or taste, but I did find myself engrossed in the movie experience of "Idaho Transfer" quite similar to the way I was when I first saw "Soylent Green". In this: that the message of imagination from so many years ago has trickled on down to today.I'm in my early twenties mind you, I have only just discovered these films, and to my dismay, they ring truth to me in ways I really hate.So I will first start off saying, I gave this film three stars because of how it left me feeling. I have to say I'm horrorified by the ending most of all...I cannot get the scream of the main character out of my head. Most likely though, being the type of movie this really is, the point is to MAKE a viewer FEEL this way. Being that this is most likely the goal, and for someone like me the goal was achieved, then they should probably have 5 stars. I will agree with one viewer above in CONS. I have this movie on a DVD called Time Travelers, and the back cover description does NOT match what the movie was about. It is this reason I believe that I went into watching the movie with an expectation of a lighter movie with a more concluded ending.If you go to watch this film, look at it from the view point of following the life of a girl who becomes involved in the complex time travel process of avoiding a natural disaster and keeping it secret from the government. You get to meet the character in the midst of the goings on of this project , follow her through the problems she encounters, through her desperation, and then finally, her end. You pretty much come to know about as much as she does and not much more, with the exception of following her sister in the beginning of the film who seemed to know quite a bit about everything going on. The point however is, when movies are portrayed in the manner I've just described, you tend to be left with a lot of loose ends that might not be left in other films, and left with questions that either is left to be answered by oneself or is left to be a mystery.So putting aside the bad VHS-like film quality, and the horror feelings I was left with, this movie deserves 7 stars. This movie is NOT from my time, NOT from my generation, and yet, the intelligent storyline grabbed a hold of my psyche and would not let it go until I saw it through to the end. I immediately realized how engaged I was so quickly and as mentioned already, this was done WITHOUT big guns, WITHOUT big lasers and creature monsters, WITHOUT huge special effects or flashy attempts to create something "out-of-this-world". On the contrary, they made the film very down to earth and realistic, which is probably why it rattled me. I tend to also agree about the clothes and music; they seem very fitting for these current times. The clothes were plain (yet I bought into the concept that they were high-tech), and the music must have been ahead of it's time for me to not be too distracted by it...which is what tends to happen with other 1970's movies that I have watched.I'm not entirely certain about the time-travel process, but the messages sent through this film regarding natural disasters and resource shortages is something I see as a very real possibility. If you are more of a pessimistic prediction maker, I would say this would fit right up your ally.