THE STORY – A rebellious teenage woman’s father went missing years ago, and she believes that he didn’t run away, but was abducted by aliens. She joins forces with a funky UFO club made up of a lovable group of weirdos and rejects. Together, they embark on an adventure that takes them far beyond the boundaries of the law and ultimately, our world.
THE CAST – Inez Dahl Torhaug, Jesper Barkselius, Sara Shirpey & Isabelle Kyed
THE TEAM – Victor Danell (Director/Writer) & Jimmy Nivrén Olsson (Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 116 Minutes
Science fiction is almost always about humanity’s innate desire to survive. It is evolutionary; it is in our DNA: humans want to live and will (usually) fight back against something predatory. Therefore, successful films within the genre occur in the future or outer space, as these settings provide more opponents for humanity. Additionally, a major feature in science fiction explores the consequences of advanced technology. Take “The Terminator,” “The Matrix,” “Westworld,” “Ex Machina,” etc. (the list truly does go on), films that center on technology, and most importantly, artificial intelligence’s threat to humanity. The message is almost always the same: it is not a good idea to create and rely on something smarter than yourself.
“Watch the Skies” follows Denise (Inez Dahl Torhaug), a rebellious teenager who is one arrest away from juvenile detention. She has been in foster care since her father went missing trying to hunt a UFO years ago. Everyone in town thinks he ran away or died, but Denise is convinced that he was abducted by the aliens and has made it her mission to find him and prove everyone wrong. This leads Denise to find UFO Sweden, an organization dedicated to individuals obsessed with space exploration and UFOs. Most of them also worked with Denise’s father before his disappearance. Together, Denise and UFO Sweden unlock many mysteries within the town in the hopes of finding Denise’s father.
The film takes place in the 1990s and is steeped in the culture of the time. But “Watch the Skies” also has a lot of observable similarities to “Stranger Things.” From the visual aesthetic to the score by Oskar Sollenberg and Gustaf Spetz to the costumes and character dynamics. Therefore, if one is a fan of the Netflix series “Watch the Skies,” it will be an entertaining watch, but it seems a little too similar in its style. However, the cinematography by Hannes Krantz is effective and plays to the characteristics of a well-balanced sci-fi flick. The effects and action set pieces are also effective.
The standout of the film, however, is young Torhaug, who commands every scene she’s in. It is obvious to the viewer that she is operating out of grief and anger the entire time, which puts a heavy toll on a young person. Denise is obsessed with the fact that her dad was abducted* and that he was right about aliens and will stop at nothing to prove her dad right. She’s determined and smart, but she is also angry, alone, and, most importantly, misses her dad. These two mindsets and motivations are prominent throughout the film. Additionally, Jesper Barkselius is a wonderful supporting player as Jesper, one of the members of UFO Sweden, takes Denise under his wing and believes her.
However, what will make “Watch the Skies” newsworthy is that it is the first international film to use Artificial Intelligence for dubbing. Meaning, the Swedish actors recorded their parts in English via ADR sessions, and the artificial intelligence technology, created by the company Flawless AI, inserted their English audio and facial movements required to produce English sounds into the preexisting film. Meaning, a science-fiction film is using the very technology that the genre has warned us about for decades, which is a major paradox.
It is, unfortunately, difficult to separate the film from the technology around it. While it is in compliance with SAG-AFTRA (the company communicated with the American Unions about the software), the question still begs, “Why did this film need to be dubbed in English?” Flawless and director Victor Danell will say to make the film more accessible and have the opportunity to release it in America, but is that really necessary? If the film is strong, it should be able to be released in its original form. Does it really need to be in English in order to have a theatrical release in America? (Flawless co-founders Scott Mann and Danell may say yes.)
But even though artificial intelligence was used in the creation of the dubbed version of this film, it still holds the characteristics of a dubbed movie. The faces don’t 100% match the dialogue, and there is an element of unnaturalness in the actor’s facial muscles, especially the mouth. The actors dub the film with a Swedish accent, and everything that doesn’t pertain to the plot is kept in Swedish. The film takes place in Sweden, and the majority of the text in the film is in Swedish (ex, police signs on a police car, names on buildings, newspapers, and documents that aren’t relevant to the plot, license plates, etc). This begs the question of why these characters speak English. There is no reason story-wise. This is a Swedish film, and while it is splendid that Flawless AI and Danell kept the Swedish culture alive in the film, the only reason it is in English is to adhere to an American audience (and studios) who do not want to engage in foreign films.
If one enjoys “Stranger Things” and “Interstellar” but was always interested in Murph’s point of view, then “Watch the Skies” will be a fun time at the movies. It is an overall good movie about found family, otherness, and the hunt to find the truth. However, there is a tainted feeling when viewing the obvious alteration of the actor’s facial expressions for the characters to speak English. If this was the only way to get the film a theatrical release in America, then okay, fine, but morally, it is opening up a can of worms in terms of what makes a foreign film worthy of being shown theatrically in a different country (this question alone could be a sci-fi movie!). Hopefully, “Watch the Skies” inspires more Americans to seek out international films of all genres, but most importantly, to see them in their original language and not be afraid of simply reading subtitles.
