AURORA Trailer

Machines have taken over the world. Wait. I’m sorry. Machines are taking over the world. We have become slaves to technology. You never lift your head from your smart phone screen even though we’re on a date and I paid two hundred bucks for truffles that I can’t even taste. Last Saturday, you were playing Call of Duty and won without cheating until suddenly SWAT. That’s right! Some ten year old who had relations with your mother called SWAT officers to harass you while their identity is protected. This is the new world for those born before the year 2000, where the main stream is all about technological advancement with no end in sight. Imagine the direction of the future we’re heading in and that’s the assumption in this new trailer for Aurora.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD2zCtBMb04

Robert Kouba directs this romantic sci-fi thriller with leads Julian Schaffner and Jeannine Wacker. They play Andrew Davis and Calia, respectively. This world places us in the year 2020 where a super-computer, Kronos, calls humanity on its treating-the-planet-like-garbage behavior. Eventually, the story moves us 60 years further in when young Andrew is bewildered within a land controlled by machines. Awesome giant robots with blue LED lights roam the streets. In desperation and curiosity, he stalks the stoic Calia clinging on to the hope of a girlfriend. Together they set out on a journey to Aurora, the last human stronghold that the machines cannot reach. I can’t figure out what’s stopping the machines, though.

Now, the first thing I want to talk about is what I’ve labeled the “disaster image” (until I find the correct name). In this trailer, it’s the airplane covered in foliage. Its design is like a painting where you’re meant to take it in and think about its implications. My interpretation is the victory of nature through humanity’s loss of dominance over machinery. Kronos is out to get humanity and save the world. Being tethered to that single command, the super-computer breaks free of its masters to serve that purpose. In movies, though, that type of shot is often overused. It’s always some form of current technology in a state of disrepair; a symbol of humanity’s perpetual existence that suddenly stopped and has stood still for ages. Boring.

The trailer makes me feel like it doesn’t know what it should be. I see a Hunger Games wannabe that eventually dissolves into normalcy. Strong female figure cares strongly for cute boy who needs help. Eventually a role reversal happens when Andrew comes into his own and Calia needs to be carried away from danger. From another perspective, it’s a nice movie for couples who like action and romance separately. If you’re a girl who likes explosions and giant robots, watch this flick. Or if you’re a guy that cried at the end of The Notebook, then this movie is for you. Those two things are usually not great matches because focus shifts too quickly. I’m awed at the giant CGI effects, and then suddenly the leads are making out. But if you like Smörgåsbord, go crazy.

There’s this other thing that just makes me laugh. All or most race representations associated with humanity is broken down into single rooms/shots in the beginning of the trailer. The first shot has a room full of Caucasians staring at what I assume is the television. Then the second shot has a bunch of Asians staring at the TV and, finally, the third shot has Asians staring at the TV. It’s the shortest possible way to get through the topic of race representation in the year 2020. I have no idea where the black people are by the way. It’s funny because it’s so awkward. I figure you have to mention the different colors of humanity for political correctness. Instead of doing something smart like littering the landscape with references to human culture, humanity is rendered into small rooms. Like FIFA world cup season in NY.

Aurora seems like a movie for young people, so if you’re into giant robots and romance it should be good for a Friday night out with your significant other. Before I send you off, let me leave you with a small PSA. Get off your smart phones, especially when walking the streets, because you need to pay attention to cars. Also, do your part to fight off the coming machine takeover.

Aurora comes out in the U.S July 7th 2015. There are currently no other release dates.

Tell us your thoughts on the coming machine overlords!

(top image source: Vantis Pictures)