Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: FUTURE TENSE [Toronto International Film Festival - Toronto, Ontario]
The idea of time travel as a vacation spot is an interesting concept but one with a lot of concern and corners to fill. The idea here with “Future Tense” [World Premiere/Centrepiece] is a controlled space but with no interaction with anything of the day (though a house itself would be something). Lwando (Lawrence Maleka) wins a trip to the past and his friend Tara (Kristen Raath) goes along with him. Their relationship is back and forth with some communications problems in play. He comes off more controlling and intellectual while she is more feeling and worldly but her reactions is at times chaotic but for reason. Situated as far as location in South Africa, there is an underlying cultural relevance that plays through considering the time period they were sent back to in 1647. Lwando reveals a certain reasoning but the progression seems more metaphorical that realistic. The ultimate play which shows an established aspect of domiciles is odd in a way because the time frame is not clear or what was done once time travel was established.
The idea of future and past melds which is an interesting idea but doesn’t make a full amount of logical sense. Lwando has a purpose but it almost seems at a certain point like a lost cause because of something else that happens. To give away any more of the plot spoils what it is about. Raath as Tara plays to a whole different idea and she lights up the film. Tara has her ideals, her desires and the choices she is living with. She seems to be really into Lwando and the film flashes back to when they first meet and she speaks of her life. The way she emotes brings to mind Karen Allen who always had a charm, cuteness and a truth to her which is the feeling that Raath seems to capture. One of her actions is the most decisive of the film but the viewer finds themselves questioning if it made a difference or if it is the same as it has always been. The future is shown but perhaps it was never there to begin with. The film works on its ideals less than on its logic yet it speaks to a truth that inhabits any new technology: what is it really and how do we use it. 78%/B-
By Tim Wassberg
