Film Journal 2023: Landscape With Invisible Hand
Directed by Cory Finley
A quirky, ambitious sci-fi that works to defy both conventions and expectations. How willing you are to sink yourself into the oddities of this world will likely determine how well this works for you.
It’s also a bit of a slow build. Not in the pacing, but in the time it gives to building its world. This applies equally to the character development. The film’s interest in using its premise- benevolent aliens turned overlords whose introduction of technology has gradually eroded the human economy- to say something about larger social realities. The clear commentary on capitalism, disparity, gender and family dynamics, internet culture, all gets played through the lives of these two teens and their respective families. The way the script draws this out affords them layers, moving the plot in some unexpected directions as we watch the relationship between the two develop.
It all acts as a reminder that we live in a world shaped by these invisible hands. Our awareness and understanding of the persons existing within these systems involves awareness of the systems themselves.
As with anything unconventional, there is a definite level of experimentation, some that works more than others, and the further this goes along the deeper it sinks itself into it’s own imagination. This is, however, where the film is also at its most interesting and inventive, and goes a long ways in establishing this as worthwhile viewing.
The Stories of my Life 