The Man Who Fell to Earth

Rating:
Summary: A TERRIFIC AND UNUSUAL SCI-FI FILM...
Review: I first saw this film when it was released in the mid nineteen seventies. It is a terrific and unusual sci-fi film that eventually became a cult classic. When I discovered that the film was out on DVD, I eagerly snapped it up and was once again able to enjoy it.

The film itself, though somewhat abstract, is compelling and absorbing. It is not just a science fiction film with a twist. It is a film that explores themes that are timeless: desolation, alienation (no pun intended), and loneliness. At times, these themes are palpable due to David Bowie's wondrously androgynous performance, which is heartbreakingly moving at times.

The plot is fairly simple. An alien, Davie Bowie, leaves his family on his dying and arid planet in search for water. He lands on earth and begins his project to send water to his devasted planet by amassing the wealth that he needs to do this. He patents numerous lucrative inventionsand eventually finds himself at the head of a world wide conglomerate. He joins up with a kindly, though stupid and vapid, woman who drinks gin like a fish, Candy Clark, with whom he begins a liaison of sorts. Yet, he is always lonely and melancholic, and like her, begins to spiral into an alcoholic haze, sometimes sidetracking him from his purpose here.

At some point, excruciatingly sad and lonely, longing for his family, he reveals himself to her for who he truly is, shedding his earthly appearance, only to be met with absolute horror and repugnance by her at the sight of him. She ultimately tries to understand him, but it is truly beyond her ken. He is infinitely sad at this and longs all the more for home.

On the threshhold of returning to his planet and loved ones, he is kidnapped by corporate raiders who take over his holdings, and it is here that the movie begins to disintergrate somewhat. Yet, it remains strangely hypnotic and compelling, and becomes a sort of "Lost Weekend" of betrayal, booze, and promises that will never be kept. A parable of wanting to belong, yet knowing that you truly never will. A story about wanting to go home, but knowing on some level that you truly can never go home again.

Rating:
Summary: A sad movie but good performance
Review: The story is sad, but well done. An alien ( human body appearance ) stuck on Earth, trying to build a ship and go home. He is patenting some of their technologies to raise money for building the space ship. Too bad humans look at him as just an other object of an other experiment... David Bowie's physical appearance reflects the original description in the book very well.