Gala Movie Storyline. On a surveillance mission in a primordial forest, a park ranger encounters two survivalists following a post-apocalyptic lifestyle. The boy and his philosophical father seem to have their own religion, and a mysterious relationship to nature. There are many suspicious aspects to their existence, but when the cabin is attacked by strange, post-human beings one night, she learns that there is a greater threat in this emergent wilderness.
Gaia is a 2021 South African ecological horror thriller film directed and produced by Jaco Bouwer, from a screenplay by Tertius Kapp. It stars Monique Rockman, Carel Nel, Alex van Dyk, and Anthony Oseyemi. It had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 16, 2021. It was released in a limited release on June 18, 2021, prior to video on demand on June 25, 2021, by Decal. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise directed at the film’s visuals.
The opening scene is straight out of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness: two people paddle down a river in a canoe. The river is crowded in on all sides by thick jungly green. It’s a lonely sight, often presented from a God’s eye view (appropriate since these two people are operating a drone, buzzing above and around them). Winston (Anthony Oseyemi) and Gabi (Monique Rockman) both work for the forestry service, and when their drone disappears in the forest, Gabi decides to get out of the canoe and go find it.
Winston warns her of the dangers. Gabi is adamant: the drone is now “trash” and they mustn’t leave their trash behind. What is meant to be a quick errand turns instantly into a confusing incoherent nightmare, when Gabi encounters (a nice way to put it) a couple of survivalists: father Barend (Carel Nel) and son Stefan (Alex van Dyk). The two emerge, dirt-covered, rail-thin, wielding hand-made tools, draped in rags, like cavemen of yore. Winston, meanwhile, sets off into the forest to find his colleague. Big mistake.
When night falls, the forest transforms into a sentient being, crawling with mysteries, mushrooms curling upwards, with long twirling fronds taking on a life of their own. (The visuals are extraordinary.) Gabi is alarmed by all the squeaking sounds out there, sudden shrieks, whooshes of movement in the trees, and sometimes—eerily—a glowing red light emanating through the thick cover. Holed up in Barend and Stefan’s shack, Gabi slowly begins to understand that “something” is out there, something unstoppable. Barend and Stefan are fully aware of what it is, what it wants, and how it works. Gabi’s learning curve is slow. Winston’s is fast.
Getting out of the forest will not be easy. Gabi is sucked into the tense controlling dynamic of father and son. When Gabi, in the process of trying to connect with the wordless Stefan, shows him her cell phone, Barend grabs it and throws it across the room, shouting like an old-time preacher: “Abomination! Devilish!” The three sit down to a meal and Barend intones a prayer to the “Mother of creation and destruction.”
Outside, the mushrooms are on the move, gigantic endlessly-tentacled figures rustling around behind the characters, mostly seen in a blur (a much scarier choice than seeing them up close and personal). Screenwriter Tertius Kapp gives us a good understanding of how these creatures work, and how Barend and Stefan have figured out how to survive. It’s complicated! Gabi learns by watching.
Gaia (2021)
Directed by: Jaco Bouwer
Starring: Monique Rockman, Carel Nel, Alex Van Dyk, Anthony Oseyemi
Screenplay by: Tertius Kapp
Production Design by: Rocco Pool
Cinematography by: Jorrie van der Walt
Film Editing by: Leon Visser
Costume Design by: Mariechen Vosloo:
Music by: Pierre-Henri Wicomb
MPAA Rating: R for some violence and bloody images, sexual content, nudity and language.
Distributed by: Bleecker Street
Release Date: June 18, 2021 (United States)
Views: 167
