I was actually looking for a completely different movie when somebody said "Maybe this is the movie you are looking for?". It wasn't, but my God am I glad I stumbled upon it. I am literally EXTREMELY thankful I had the luck to know about a movie which unfortunately is so obscure that I don't even know how many in Sweden have seen it. I have tried to convince a friend for several months to check out this unforgettable piece, but to no avail. What a shame, he's really missing out on something special! The thing is, if you watch this the first time, you will probably scratch your head your skin will tear off and brain mass is sighted. Okay, that was a little too much, but still. What's funny about this is that it's not such a complicated or hard-to-get movie after all. I was so convinced I had missed something on the first watch, so I gave it a second viewing. It turned out it was just as simple as I had interpreted it: a surreal, twisted thriller about paranoia in a strange environment. Simon J. is pretty much a normal guy, who tries to live his own life. But he can't, because his boss gets him under the skin by constantly blabbing about the codes he as a computer programmer was supposed to send. But what are the codes for? Mostly taking place in a apartment building, Simon meets a lot of crazy people, even including Howard, who is constructing a small robot with a intricate voice (it was so hard to hear what it said that I had to turn up the volume if I didn't play incredibly close attention) and Trish, who partakes in some... peculiar activities on her time off. His emotional connection to her is one of the most interesting aspects of the movie. Does he love her for real or is he just trying to seek comfort in someone in a world he can't grasp? His friendship with Howard is also a major part of the movie. But even though he's the only one who relatively keeps his sanity intact, nobody goes free from suspicion, since... ... he gets sent empty packages to his apartment again and again and again, which is what motivates him to act as scared and odd as he does. Why is he always being followed when he goes to the grocery store? Why can't he stop buying so much milk? For how long can he avoid paying the rent? And what's up with this virus causing the deaths of several people? We are all Simon in this movie. His fear and incapability to remain calm while he still tries to anyway is so realistic it's scary. I can imagine acting exactly like him if I was put in such a situation. Uncertain and unrelaxed. The only one who actively helps him out is his friend Nile, but isn't he acting cuckoo as well? How can he always arrive to his apartment in barely a minute? The ending has been criticized, but I think it's perfect. It fits the tone of the movie excellently and I can't picture another way it could've turned out. Be prepared it's very dark, depressing and disturbing. But if you're in the mood for a flick outside the boundary and won't be distracted with checking your email and Facebook, which is unfortunately just the same old stuff, watch it. Maybe you'll be just as obsessed with this movie as I myself got afterwards.

You didn't hear of this movie for years? Well, good, but sadly somehow you got here, which means you might want to check this movie out.But luckily you ended up reading this review. I won't go into detail, but just give you one tip: It is Bulls*The other reviewers must be crazy. Seeing a riddle behind every camera angle. This movie is crap. It is atmospheric but in a way that made me nervous, I wanted to tear the seat and theater apart. The movie leads nowhere. There isn't a message about anything you are left with. I am a software engineer, and I don't get anything here. I suppose you have to be very ignorant about everything, to see the master plan here. Having some kind of knowledge totally breaks this movie. It is up to you if you want to waste your day. I am still angry writing these lines.

Paranoia 1.0 portrayed a not-so-distant future of isolation and corruption. Our protagonist - Simon J - suffers from the very beginning and his deteriorating state grows exponentially by the end. There is a clever gimmick behind his "sickness" which I can agree to be plausible.This cinematic adventure's strengths are not in the casting, but in a grim atmosphere that entices the viewer with a special peek into the world of a paranoid being. This is done exceedingly well and I give much respect to the set designers. Overall, 1.0 is a look into what corporate power may one day be able to exact upon the masses, in ever evolving, technologically proficient world.

I just finished watching Paranoia 1.0. While this film is not going on my list of all time favorite films, I did find it very entertaining. The filmmakers have nothing to be ashamed of. I was particularly struck by the similarities between this film and Orson Welles' 1962 film of Kafka's The Trial (Le Procès). The Romanian locations do for Paranoia some of what the Yugoslavian locations did for the Trial. Paranoia gives a cyberpunk angle on the Kafkaesque theme of the internalization of social structure, particularly the mentality of consumerism. Although Kafka did not explicitly address consumerism, I think he might if he was alive and writing in the 21st century. The sub-themes of sexual guilt and infection are very much from Kafka. And the police are especially Kafkaesque. I also detected the influence of David Cronenberg, especially his media-related films Videodrome and eXistenZ. I think there was also a little bit of Kubrick influence. I saw this in the neighbor's AI project which sort of a existential, postmodern, frankensteinian, Edvard Munchian version of 2001's Hal and AI's David. He goes "Aaahhhhh ..." You might say the same thing after watching this movie, especially if literary/philosophical sci fi/fantasy is not your bag.