Zenith
Zenith
| 01 October 2010 (USA)
Zenith Trailers

In a hellish future where human beings have become stupefied by the state of permanent happiness they have been genetically altered to experience, Jack offers relief via drugs that cause his customers the welcome phenomenon of pain. But when Jack receives a mysterious videotape of his dead father, he sets out to unmask the dangerous conspiracy that has created this dystopian world.

Reviews
aircooledkafer

I can't emphasize this enough: I regret watching this movie. We've all wasted time on worthless movies, but I honestly wish I could "unsee" Zenith. It's unnecessarily vulgar and completely worthless. Zenith is well done in the way that a birthday cake made of rocks and muffin mix can be well done. The cinematography is okay but nothing special. Acting was okay, bordering on bad. The Story is completely weak. It's not profound, and this isn't because I didn't "Get it". I know exactly what the movie is trying to do, but it just wasn't good. The concept it tries to deliver is actually really basic. It's nothing new. And they didn't even deliver it well. The movies description is accurate. People looking for pain because they want to feel ANYTHING other than happiness. I think this movie is something like a demonstration of such yearnings. The content is weak and useless, but it does deliver plenty of "Shocking" things... for the sake of being shocking. There are SEVERAL graphic dirty sex scenes that just make you feel uneasy and dirty. There's even a vulgar sex/rape scene between a Father and his Daughter. The kinds of things that burn into your mind and you can't "unsee" them. I'm not picky about the "F bomb". I really don't mind it as long as it's not used in a vulgar sexual way. In Zenith, they used it quite a bit like that. The movie has plenty of violence, but nothing worse than many movies you may have already seen. They push the envelope pretty badly when it comes to the sex, but not all that much with the violence. Plenty of brutal beatings, gunshots etc. A mild scene of a forced abortion. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of violence, but I've seen much worse.I continued watching this because I hoped that it had a worthwhile story. I trudged through the awful sex and porn crossing my fingers that it wouldn't have any more and the story would get better. Just more unsettling sex and a weak story.I would say don't bother, but it's worse than that. Don't watch this, you may regret it. But seriously. Don't watch it out of curiosity now. You should be curious about it like you should be curious about what it feels like to lick a hot stove.

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s-t-capistrant

An exciting stand-up triple that falls frustrating short of a home run. Wonderfully original and thought-provoking story covering the dystopian topics of power structures without rule-of-law, genetic manipulation on a mass scale, mind chemical crutches, and the erosion of scholasticism. Acting, sets, and cinematography all done well, which is impressive given the film's 12 dollar and 50 cents budget. Unfortunately, many story elements get tossed in without backdrop or development (how did everyone get genetically altered as soon as 2044, especially in a world lacking the organizational framework of governments?). It feels like the too-condensed movie version of a epic-length cerebral sci-fi book series, like Herbert's Dune or Card's Ender, but sadly, no such luck. Nevertheless, Zenith is brain candy worth chewing on over and over.

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ClaudioLaniado

I had the opportunity to see ZENITH at the IFC THEATER in NYC.The movie was in summary at least 100 times better than INCEPTION. This is a statement for the quality of this independent film which was much less money to make than INCEPTION. The story was imaginative and associated with current society. The artistry in th...e acting and directing was quite evident. The acting was raw..and the story was up your face, and the directing and cinematography was genius. Each scene seemed like a painting which could be worth thousands in the art world. It was quite interesting to see at a moment breaking the fourth wall. This movie was provocative, thought stimulating, and a roller-coaster of goodies to see : A MASTERPIECE OF INDEPENDENT FILMMAKING ..WHICH I PREDICT WILL BECOME AN INDEPENDENT FILM CULT CLASSIC... Get some sleep before you go see this,... you will need all your brain cells so as to not miss one second of it. Hope to see it in big theaters real soon.

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chelmhoz

If you have read about it, forget the online meta-something story lines which accompany the film, the conspiracy and warning signs, and go see this film with a fresh mind - but don't blink! It is so dense with information and visuals that if you go for popcorn you will have a hard time to connect all the dots. It asks the audience to be alert and to participate in the movie, but it's worth it. Zenith obviously references/ is influenced by a lot of cult films, from Memento to Donnie Darko, with nods to La Jetee and Fight Club among others, but it is thoroughly original and unique.The film is not really about conspiracies, it is about power and lack of it, and how we relate to it, and by extension, what choices we make. The director has repeated the concept of the experiment - beginning the film with the Milgram experiment, which is not a conspiracy but a test of obedience to authority (SPOLER ALERT) repeating the experiment in the middle of the film, referencing the experiment twice by a doctor toward the end of the film, and even the director is credited as "experiment supervisor." Peeling layer after layer of intense visuals and narrative threads, the film becomes an allegory on what it means to be human. Jack, or "dumb Jack as they call him" recites into the camera about consciousness and the states of the mind (and mind you, he is an epileptic).Power corrupts, weather it is political, or the power that a parent can wield, and it is when the political becomes personal that we have to make a choice, as simulated in Milgram's experiment and as shown in Zenith. Jack doesn't give up, although he is doomed to lose. I don't think that I have ever seen a film like this, and couldn't stop thinking about it afterward. If your idea of a 'good movie' is based on Hollywood or even Indy films of the last decade, you will probably walk away unimpressed. But, as one of my favorite characters in Zenith rants into the camera, judging things without contributing or making something yourself can be self-defeating. Productionwise, the acting is superb, the look and camera-work amazing, the directing masterful, and the amount of complex philosophical questions squeezed into a 90 minute joyride (with sex and violence and suspense) makes Zenith a unique brilliant film.

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