Upside Down

Movie Review: «Upside Down».

English Title: Upside Down.
Production: Canada / France, 2012.
Release Date: 27.12.2012 (Argentina), 23.01.2012 (France).
Russian Distributor: Luxor (23.08.2012).
Official Website:
Genres: Adventure / Drama / Melodrama / Romance / Sci-Fi.
Director: Juan Diego Solanas.
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Jim Sturgess, Timothy Spall.
Running Time: 90 minutes.

The Power of Love

Melodrama Upside Down, Review of which will unveil a new Sci-Fi Romance story for you, could have been released in 2011, but was significantly delayed for months. Still we have had a pleasant experience watching this title with Kirsten Dunst, Jim Sturgess and Timothy Spall.

The Upside Down (2012) melodrama has passed through all the creative process challenges. Although not a festival Sci-Fi Romance title appealing to surely a wider audience, still it isn’t a shiny blockbuster ready to storm the world box office either. The main filming part took place in 2010, but a planned release in 2011 got delayed for months depending on a country. Both Onyx Films and Studio 37 were first keen to shoot in France, which is a homeland to many of the production team’s members. In the end, Canada was chosen, because nowadays it is one of the most attractive living commercial environments for movie industry and its Co-Production affairs, thanks to a special Tax Rebate system.

An estimated budget of 60 mln. USD would be enough for any Sci-Fi drama, which is not focused on the special effects trying to cultivate a captivating story, instead of a spectacular fast-paced Action. Both the scriptwriters Santiago Amigorena and argentinian named Juan Diego Solanas, who is a former cinematographer and director of the Nordeste (2005) film, chose a more challenging way. The duo might draw their inspiration out of such titles as Stardust (2007) and Inception (2010) directed by Christopher Nolan, and certainly the thriller In Time (2011) was taking into account, thanks to the participation of some of its creators in the team.

The leading male part of the Upside Down title could go Emile Hirsch of the Savages (2012) film, but the British actor, singer and musician Jim Sturgess took it over. His on-screen partner was Kirsten Dunst, playing her typical role of a girl lost in the flow of feelings. Juan Diego Solanas helmed the creative process as the only Director. His portfolio already includes a documentary, a short film and some television projects. Jim Sturgess previously appeared in such movies as The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) and 21 (2008).

Juan Diego Solanas is a former actor, cinematographer, editor and sound engineer. That’s quite a lot of various experience for just one person. His new movie was financed jointly by seven producers, amongst which you can meet such well-known names in the industry, as Claude Léger, who invested in the TV series named Napoléon (2002); also James W. Skotchdopole, the second assistant director for The Untouchables (1987) drama and even Phil Hope, who is the Music Producer for the upcoming dark comedy titled Grabbers (2012).

The Upside Down film universe directly links the worlds of two different planets, gluing them together. The ceiling of one of them marks the start of the ceiling of another one. It means, that when you are standing at the bottom, the people from the Upper World look like they are hanging upside down. As with many other futuristic dramas, the citizens of the Upper and Lower worlds live in different conditions. However, unlike in the Les Deux Mondes (2007) film, they exist simultaneously and in parallel to each other, all obeying the special gravity laws. Corporate capitalism of the future has led to the resources, ideas, patents and labor extracted by top from bottom through the power of the Transworld company.

The economic conditions of this future universe are shown much better and more convincing than in another recent thriller entitled Cosmopolis (2012). The main resource here is named the Reverse Energy Matter, generating heat when left out of a fridge it is stored in. This is also the basic currency for the Upper World, while inhabitants of the Lower one all the time try to steal some of the Matter to warm up their homes. That’s why the rich have created armed border patrols to stop the intruders. Oil leak disasters destroyed many living parts and people of the Lower World, and the survivors there have to wear protective chemical suits for health safety reasons. The most common transport for all the poor is now an ordinary bicycle.

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Kirsten Dunst and Jim Sturgess go against gravity laws

Read on further to learn about the story and the characters of Upside Down.