Movie Reviews: A Scanner Darkly (2006) and 13 (Tzameti) (2006)

Imagine that you never know the real identity of the people you work for, or even what they look like. Imagine that you are forced to interact with people who are your ideological opposites to the point where you must bunk with them. Imagine that your every move is monitored and recorded on scanners that exist almost everywhere. And imagine that you are perpetually under the influence of an addictive, consciousness-altering substance. Quite contrary to the John Lennon song, paranoia reigns supreme, reality begins to change dynamically every time you look over your shoulder and life converges to nothing more than a vague blur. While this sounds scary enough, it is just another day in a Phillip K. Dick novel.

Undercover police officer Fred (Keanu Reeves) is deeply embedded in a cell of drug users (Robert Downey, Jr., Woody Harrelson and Rory Cochrane) as Bob Arctor in an attempt to ascend the chain of users and dealers and ferret out major sources of "Substance D," a mind-altering drug, analogous to LSD. When he is Fred, he must wear a "scramble suit," as must all narcotics agents. This conceals their true identity to each other, with the purported objective of preventing corruption and collusion.

As a result, he never knows his coworkers' or his boss's true identity. When he is Bob, he can look like himself. And perhaps it is this extra degree of freedom that gets him addicted to "Substance D," something which the Agency monitors regularly through psychological and physical tests. Perhaps also, it is this freedom which prevents him from avoiding emotional involvement with Donna (Winona Ryder), a member of the drug user cell. Ultimately, he loses track of whether he is Fred acting as Bob or vice versa. Substance D will do that to you.

The movie follows Fred through a series of twists and turns, until we finally realize what is really going on. It suffices to say, it's not paranoia when they're really after you.

Director Richard Linklater shot in the animation technique known as rotoscoping, in which animators trace over the live-action images of the performers. That said, this movie is probably the closest Hollywood will ever get to translating Dick's vivid imagination on to film. The technique allows for bright colors, an other-worldly feel and characters that are physically amoebic, not unlike their mental state. Reeves, with his own surreal, stoner-like persona is perfect as Fred/Bob, and Rory Cochrane excels as Freck, a volatile character, the extent of whose dependency on Substance D is rivaled only by his behavioral excesses.

13 (Tzameti) is technically a 2005 film, but it was released throughout most of the world (including the US) in 2006. There is no rotoscoping in this film and no alternate reality. In fact this French debut by Georgian director Gela Babluani is shot completely in black and white and is sharp, cynical and sadistic.

It tells the story of a 20-something Georgian immigrant, Sebastien (Georges Babluani, the director's brother), who must support his family by doing odd jobs, the latest of which is roofer at Godon's (Philippe Passon) house. Godon is a morphine addict and he dies of an overdose before Sebastien's job is complete. Completely broke, his wife dismisses Sebastien without pay. While on the roof though, Sebastien gets wind of a high-paying job (we don't know the details) that Godon was supposed to do. Sebastien steals an envelope which Godon received, that apparently contains instructions for the job. When he opens it, he finds that the envelope contains a train ticket, a hotel reservation and a token with the number 13 on it ('tzameti' means thirteen in Georgian).

For the first half of the movie, we follow Sebastien with bated breath as he goes into the countryside, following instructions from an anonymous caller and an unknown driver to get to this mysterious job. When Sebastien finally figures out what the job is, he tries everything in his power to get out, but it is too late. The job is a deadly game that involves what is possibly the most primal aspect of humanity.

Without revealing more, this movie is similar to to A Scanner Darkly in that it explores the more cynical side of human nature. But apart from that, this story is very real, rooted in the present and not science fiction. Reality is not the issue here - in fact, one wishes that its protagonist would have access to Substance D, so he can escape his current situation, if only in his mind.

The black and white only enhances the tension and the suspense as we encounter some extremely interesting characters, each portrayed splendidly. The outcome of the game turns out be what we expect it, but the twists will leave you reeling. Ultimately, do not be surprised if you have ripped holes in the arms of your seat by the end of the film. This thriller was definitely one of the high points of the year.