2121 is a dystopian science fiction film from Turkish director/co-writer Serpil Altin. People have fled underground after the surface has been rendered uninhabitable. They live in subterranean shelters (think Vault-Tec from Fallout) across the globe. Food is in short supply and rationed. The underground dwellings are warrens and rooms carved out of rock and dimly lit.
The government is a totalitarian state that uses a triage system to enable the highest number of souls to survive. Infants take precedence, middle-aged people work to support the community, and older people are walking organ donors. The timing for when the old are taken is based on an inventory system, one in, one out, with each family allotted a number of members. When a woman (Selen Öztürk) has an unplanned pregnancy, she realizes her mother is now in jeopardy and must figure out what to do before they come for the older woman’s organs. Culling the population so the youngest survive when resources are limited is reminiscent of the “renewal” ceremony in Logan’s Run. At least in that story, they had the decency to lie about what was happening.
This family includes a little girl (Sukeyna Kiliç) who is confused and struggling with the ways of the “Young Revolution” authority. She is close with her Grandmother (Aysenil Samlioglu) and traumatized by her grandmother’s choice to join the opposition rebels rather than wait to be killed for her organs.
“People have fled underground after the surface has been rendered uninhabitable.”
The performances are brilliant, but 2121 is carried by Öztürk as the mother trying to balance the life of her unborn child against the rest of her family under the pressures of government rules. The film is a powerful statement on, among other issues, what happens if we destroy the planet. Environmentalism has been cast as “tree huggers” looking to save snails or forcing industry to stop so small fish can survive, but the undeniable fact is that everything in this terrarium is connected, and human activity is fouling the environment. Humans live in a narrow band of conditions when it comes to temperature, clean air, and water. We are fragile organisms. Earth has endured repeated cycles of ice ages and extinction events, transforming into something new each time. It’s the humans that are threatened, and for whom environmentalists are advocating.
2121 gives us a look at the absurd logical conclusion of a youth rebellion when generations tire of the treachery and narcissism of their predecessors. They will retire you for parts. At some level, that’s actually funny. The film is grim with its dark, claustrophobic caverns and joyless, drab interiors. Families know they are under constant surveillance, so they speak in measured tones using approved government phrases. Of course, these oppressive regimes do exist in the world. Take North Korea and China, for example. Could this style of government be coming for us?
Serpil Altin is the first Turkish woman to direct a sci-fi film, an exciting development, but she’s using her moment on the stage to show us where we could be headed if we don’t make major societal course corrections. 2121 is not a happy film, but it is engaging to consider what might await us.
Learn more at the official 2121 website.
"…where we could be headed if we don’t make major societal course corrections..."
