OXV: The Manual

Plot synopsis:
The plot develops in a world where every person emits a specific frequency which determines his or her luck, further determining his or her success in life. Higher frequency means better luck and thus less feelings.
In this world where relationship, connections, and life worth is determined by predestined "frequencies", Isaac-Newton Midgeley, known as Zak, is a Low Born who wants to change his fate and start a relationship with High Born savant, Marie-Curie Fortune.
Despite his teachers and his parents who tell Zak that Marie and he are opposites which will never attract, Zak attempts throughout his youth to court Marie, with no success. Marie, being of high frequency, is unable to feel emotion; however, her goal is to feel love. Zak's friend, Theo, attempts to help Zak raise his frequency, a feat claimed to be impossible. During his teenage years, Zak uses magnets and other methods to no avail.
Upon returning, as a young adult to Marie's birthday, he claims to be able to raise his frequency and eventually manages a kiss from Marie. The two end up spending the night together. Zak discovers with Theo that sound waves, when combined with gibberish two-syllable words, are able to temporarily raise one's frequency. They create a cell phone device which, based on the environment, is able to determine which words can raise one's frequency.
However, Zak and Marie discover that the words actually have mind-controlling properties, which may have caused their love. A secret government organization detains Zak and his associates, revealing that this phenomenon had been known throughout history and was slowly forgotten. By 1760, this phenomenon had lost much of its power. Unable to contact Theo, Zak uses a word to paralyze his captor and escapes.
He escapes to Theo's house, where Theo's father reveals that music, specifically that of Mozart, was able to balance everyone's frequencies and nullify the mind-controlling properties of these words. Theo is able to calculate an equation based on music and discover that fate exists. He is able to predict the future and the destinies of others. Zak and Marie realize their love was caused by fate, not choice. Finding this irrelevant, the two hold hands while Theo realizes the perfect philosophical equation.

Tags: romantic, fantasy

Review:
Some movies require you to take the "reviewers rule book" and toss it.This is one of them.The writer/director Darren Paul Fisher appears to be one of those rare auteurs who releases a work every four or five years and then disappears or hibernates or goes back to his home planet.This is an extraordinary film.
Even now I not sure if this is a love story sugar-coated with one of the most complex metaphysical scripts of all time, or a metaphysical script grounded in a wonderfully odd love story.However, as one of the main characters quips in the very last scene, "Does it even matter?" The film is mesmerizing and engaging and challenging.
I saw the world premiere at Fantasia and chatted at length with writer/director/editor/producer Darren Paul Fisher afterwards.The Universe he created and that the viewer slowly discovers is complex, coherent, intriguing and raise ethical and philosophical questions including the classic determinism versus free will dilemma.
Character development arise seamlessly through three different age period and the pacing and editing are quite remarkably on cue.I don't want to reveal too much about this cerebral science fiction, but there are many clever surprises that awaits the engaged viewer both in the story twists and the underlying concepts explored.
Even love has some deep philosophical implications at one point in the context of the film.So there you have it: the best film of Fantasia so far this year and one of the best sci-fi ever, from the spectacular script to the screen.Bravo Mr Fisher and thank you for sharing your thoughts and labour of love in this artistic and philosophical masterpiece..
Although from the synopsis I thought this was not the kind of film I can enjoy, I decided to watch it after reading the (at the moment only) review, by Christian.
There are names of fictional characters which recall names of famous geniuses, and sort of gags/tributes to them, which to be fully enjoyed require you to at least know, for example, who Isac Newton was and how important for him things like weight/gravity and apples were.
The actors are also very good.Somehow this film reminds me of "Waking Life" and of "I Love Huckabees", for its mixture of mentality and emotionality and comedy.I do not give it a 10 just because nobody is perfect :D And like Christian wrote: please watch it!
The movie was very smart and the actors and actresses all did an amazing job.It kind of reminds me of the SciFi show Eureka, but with a more darker twist; I liked it.
good saturation.The movie had a slow build but the wait and the wonder was completely worth it in the end and it kept me thoroughly intrigued throughout.
And true to the good science fiction that it is, it takes a real observable "fact" of our lives (in this case that some people seem to be luckier in most aspects of life than others, being at the right place at the right time etc) and builds it out into a logical conclusion, a little bit beyond "the ordinary" that life usually gives us.
The movie starts off a bit slow, but it is used to settle the premise of the story in one's mind, so bear with it.
If you like science fiction (not the bang whiz special effects sort, but the sort rooted in ideas and good story telling)watch this one..
Or maybe you thought about it or read about it already, but whatever the case, experiencing this movie, is a blast to say the least.We have more time-lines and more jumps than some people will be able to handle or even want to handle.
Maybe they were fan boys but this was like watching a low budget British TV movie that had been commissioned by BBC Three to a fresh out of film school director with a decent idea.
Acting was decent for a low budget British movie but I don't think anyone will look back in years to come and think that this was to the director what Pi was to Aronofsky or Following was to Nolan..
But it's quite pretty, almost charming as it goes along.This movie, like a lot of stories of this ilk, reflects strong ignorance of science, physics, maths and nature by the makers.
No I don't care if you are going to tell me they have a PhD or some such nonsense you feel like making up: they don't, or if they do it's an honourary one, and in the Arts.For a start it never mentions Chaos Theory, but half of what they bang on about is covered well and truly under that study's umbrella.
Then, after attempting to couch the whole thing as a bit of a Harry Potter type universe, with its own internal logics that owe nothing to history or science - which would have been fine, if only they had honoured their own rules - it makes the fatal mistake of trying to claw its way back to legitimacy; all rounded off with a glib and silly ending.If Frequencies was a 40 minute short, I think it could be a lovely thing.
Keep the non-science majors out of the writing room, and bring them in only when their talents are needed to actually make the film.Source Code had a try, but it too contains too much waffle.Perhaps a filmic version of the author Greg Egan's novel "Quarantine"?
Long time since I've seen such movie which makes you think, and adore the imagination put in this film.
Surprisingly this movie rises up your expectation from the start and keep on raising that bar right till the end.Storyline moves through different twist, angles making you to focus on it and get very much involved in it.
It doesn't bore you with details rather it wants you to keep your focus on the character which I think makes this movie even more fun to watch.Darren, Writer/director gives an refreshing, new way of looking at what we call the chemistry between two people.All and all, go for this movie and expect a smart, refreshing , brilliantly executed cinema based on intelligent script..
Frequencies (aka OXV: The Manual) has a great cast, great cinematography, and much more but if a filmmaker is confused about what the title of his film is, maybe there are other important aspects of the film he hasn't figured out, like a plot, characters, meaning, etc.
Maybe Frequencies (aka OXV: The Manual) is what happens when you make it up as you go along and when the time to end it comes, well, you just stop.
If Frequencies (aka OXV: The Manual) actually had a coherent story or something meaningful to say it could have been a great film, but it simply doesn't.
Writer-Director Darren Paul Fischer's film 'Frequencies' is quite ambitious in nature, not by its budget, but by the number of intriguing themes it explores and way it makes us contemplate on them.
The experimental film combines the themes of science fiction and romance to deal with profound philosophical questions.The movie is set in a world where people are born with predetermined frequencies, which signifies one's luck and the rate of success in life.
In the film's story, characters determine solutions to their problems and workings of nature with the help of knowledge (partial or specific) they have regarding the subject, and with each new discovery of information, the understanding, and thus the solution keeps changing.
In the same way, in the three segments of the film, we ourselves see how the revelation of new information makes us see the same scene in a different light.
In that regard, the film and its philosophy combine to give us an elegant and artistic puzzle.The casting is good, especially the cute younger versions of the characters.
Like, even the varying colour tones of the scenes (red being low frequency, and purple being high) have meaning, and look beautiful in the storytelling process.There is no question regarding the movie's intellect and scope, but a little more heart and soul would have made it perfect.
I cannot remember the last time a movie made me feel and think the way this film did.
By the time you watch it, it slowly shifted to a bizarre sci-fi pumping up your heart beat.It reveals how different type of frequency makes you hardly close to somebody.
Like how Isaac Newton was and how important weight, gravity, and apples were.It was a long time that I was not so deeply and lightly and fully and gently pleased by a movie.
Well, I do not know what I had in mind when I started watching this movie.
You get a picture of my mind after watching this nice(!) movie form what I am writing!!!A pure genius(!) wrote this script, no doubt.
I do not believe that it would run half its time if it did not show the same scenes, repeatedly.Only good thing about this movie, it was just not boring enough that I would cross my threshold of patience, and throw away my monitor.
The first thing I thought when I started to watch this movie is how it strongly reminded me of another awesome movie called Upside Down so if you like this one you should definitely check out Upside Down.
The main reason I gave this movie a 10/10 is because it deals with almost all the philosophical questions I've had in my life and the best part is, it confirms all my viewpoints about fate, destiny, predetermination, luck etc.
Call me an idiot but I honestly believe that in the far future this movie will be treated like a documentary and will serve as an example of how our ancestors were on the right path of figuring out the nature of the universe.
where I had trouble to keep up with the story and had to watch it a few times along with those "explained" videos on Youtube, this movie is easy to follow with the only hard part being the end where they explain Theo's story.
I've watched it a good few times now, as I try to show it to my friends when they're up for it.The acting isn't amazing but not cringe worthy either.
I love the idea behind this film, an alternate, quirky world - like ours but not quite.
Good use of a smaller budget there, too - It isn't set in an outlandish sci-fi world, there aren't physical differences - But they still manage to change the atmosphere of the movie enough to convince us we're no longer "at home".
2 bad reviews in this movie average; it deserves far higher than an excellent 7.2.
I have the worlds joint highest IQ (For real, top 0.0003% culture fair, exam conditions) and this movie was genuinely intellectually stimulating, clever, funny and strangely plausible.Frequencies is well acted throughout, has a great story, is well presented and thoroughly original.
Do not be fooled by my assertion that the movie is "intellectual" as something which should turn you off - it is fresh, clever, well shot and actually encompasses a great deal of occult, and indeed quantum scientific, theory.
It leaves you with a question, not an answer, like a great movie should.
Not too many will see most likely.Anyway I don't want to take any longer than a MINUTE (inside joke) as weird things might start happening, but this movie is ART!
If you want a movie that has a thoroughly satisfying ending, great cinematography and that will really makes you think, then this would be the one for you!.
The best way to go into this film is to know absolutely nothing about it, like I did.
It clearly wasn't made with a huge amount of money, but the cinematography and production values are perfectly fine.The acting and editing are also convincing, but the real star is the script and the story it carries.The film is somewhat reminiscent of the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind, at least in its realist treatment of science fiction.At its heart its about determinism vs free will and how that metaphysical conundrum accounts for love.
Which sounds like it could be an ordeal to watch, but it isn't, instead it's interesting and enjoyable, and I think it deserves to be seen..
The movie starts with some concepts while introducing the main characters as children.
Indeed, I would not compare it to Primer as it has zero time travel (although the story is told from different perspectives, this is more like Vantage Point than like any time- travel movie).It is driven by a few main characters, and slowly explains the setting, in a gentle, engrossing manner.
The story itself is clear and ties in with various logical aspects of the real world such as Quantum Mechanics and whatnot, and while other ideas are slightly stretched, it makes sense if you maintain an open-minded attitude towards the movie.
If "slick" was all you needed to give a movie a high rating, FREQUENCIES would be right up there with the characters in the film who have the highest frequency numbers, because it is that -- as slick as KY Jelly.
In this version of unfair, unrequited love, there is a caste system based on of all things, some sort of frequency in their atomic structure of each individual makeup which is unalterable and which permanently relegates each to a specific level of "luck" or fate and lot in life, much like our present day SAT scores.
Not an original cinematic concept by any means and we have seen it used as the foundation for love-stories in a myriad of other films, except here it becomes just too silly a device to be believable; their atomic frequency prevent them from even going near each other let alone touching or loving each other.
But that's only the beginning of the nonsense as the director/write then begins injecting more and more absurd arguments about irrelevant concepts like fate and predetermination and free will and irony(?!), all supposedly controlled by a "Manual" that we are told, without any plausible explanation, pops up throughout the centuries -- a kind of DaVinchi Code, only it's about patterns and fate.
None of this means a hill of beans to whatever is emotionally engaging of the plot -- the love story and the social ethics of a society with such an unfair way of predetermining citizens' lot or why any of this is happening.
While as a whole, this may have started off as a good attempt at a story that we COULD HAVE gotten emotional invested in, but one-third the way thru it they seem to have seriously lost their way and had no idea where they wanted to take the film.
And that is sad because the film had great potential, but when you need to come in to save your splintered, unraveling, unresolved last reel with all this mess still flopping in the wind and you to have to bring in MOZART to tie up lose ends as well as turning one of your very minor supporting characters into an omniscient Star Trek-like "Q" as the denouement to the meandering, indecipherable last 20 minutes, well, you just wind up with a major disappointment..
Especially after reading praising reviews here which made me think I probably lost track with the story during these missing 10-15 minutes, or something crucial to understand the concept.
Slowly, movie takes confused and dull rather than interesting route.Frequencies suffers from style-over-substance and trying-so-hard syndromes.
For instance, the negative frequency of main guy "not in sync with nature" and main girl's way too high one which prevents her to "feel" can also imply mental disabilities like autism.
The premise goes literally like this: there are people who emotionally cannot get together(because of their extremely opposite "frequencies"), they are not "destined" to be (add there many boring contemplations about fate, shown in the movie), some words can change that (certain tones may change "frequencies"), but these words can be also used as a tool to manipulate and control others, while certain music (like Mozart, doh!)is antidote (it brings all humans at the the same "frequency") and can unify whole mankind on subconscious level (add there that inane social commentary part) It's perhaps interesting, but no need for some extra intelligence to realize how naïve and flawed this "theory" is.
However, this "theory" is not the issue, but lack of content around that idea in the movie.At this point, Frequencies enters New-Ageisms (Scientology?) and perhaps cyber occultism?
But, clocking at 100 minutes, Frequencies looks long-winded, like there is about 30 minutes more than needed.So finally, the movie just died under all that mess.
Pretty much everyone else should.The story is kind of a Gattaca type world where people are pigeon holed by there frequency which makes them inherently lucky or not.
A scientific yet philosophical romance movie shown in terms of an experiment which is an intelligent take on how real life is like particularly romance.
Nevertheless, one thing I can say about the film with certainty is that it's very good.Subject matter that could be a potential minefield leading to pretentious cinema ends up being a delightfully accessible joyride into story.
If so, does it matter - do we go along for the ride and enjoy it or try to unravel it?You will have to judge the above for yourself after viewing the movie.I loved it and for once, I was not fast forwarding to the last 20 minutes when typically, all is revealed.
I see this film as a love story first, but without much emotion.
You don't feel the love in this movie like you would others for comparison.With age progression in three spurts we are shown the interactions between a girl and a boy, but all for experimentation purposes.
The love story was dull to say the least and the explanation at the end is missing much..