Realive | Film review - Resurrection blues for Tom Hughes

(Image credit: Universal Studios)

Resurrection blues.

Immortality isn’t all it’s cracked up to be for Tom Hughes’s futuristic Lazarus in this smart and stylish sci-fi drama from Spanish writer-director Mateo Gil (writer of Open Your Eyes and The Sea Inside).

Cryogenically frozen in the present to evade terminal cancer, Hughes’s Marc finds himself revived in 2084 by doctor Barry Ward and his team, including wide-eyed nurse Charlotte Le Bon. But his body is surprisingly fragile and weak. And he remains haunted by memories of the love of his life, on-off girlfriend Oona Chaplin.

Gil’s movie doesn’t pack a huge emotional punch, but its willingness to grapple with weighty ideas makes it compelling viewing.

Certificate 15. Runtime 112 mins. Director Mateo Gil

Realive debuts on Sky Cinema Premiere on 16 July.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vixzg_eYU5s

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A film critic for over 25 years, Jason admits the job can occasionally be glamorous – sitting on a film festival jury in Portugal; hanging out with Baz Luhrmann at the Chateau Marmont; chatting with Sigourney Weaver about The Archers – but he mostly spends his time in darkened rooms watching films. He’s also written theatre and opera reviews, two guide books on Rome, and competed in a race for Yachting World, whose great wheeze it was to send a seasick film critic to write about his time on the ocean waves. But Jason is happiest on dry land with a classic screwball comedy or Hitchcock thriller.