‘Restore Point’ Movie Review [Fantasia 2023]: A Sharp Sci-Fi Thriller Interrogating Death’s Place in Humanity
Photo from Fantasia International Film Festival
From Jeff Nelson
Robert Hloz makes his directorial debut with Restore Point. Tomislav Cecka and Zdenek Jecelin’s screenplay takes on a sci-fi detective thriller that imagines how human life would change without the fear of death. Its technology-savvy narrative brings Minority Report and Blade Runner to mind, although it has its own spin on the formula.
Set in Europe in the year 2041, economic equality led to a sharp increase in murders, resulting in legislation that legalized reviving people who died to unnatural causes. The latest technology asks humans to back up their life to a server, allowing a person to be reanimated from the save file, similar to a save point in a video game.
A rebel group called the River of Life disapproves of this technology, condemning scientists who take an inherent part of the human experience away from the population. Police agent Em Trochinowska (Andrea Mohylová) investigates a complicated case involving the murder of David (Matěj Hádek), the head researcher of the Restoration Institute, and his wife. However, neither of them has a complete backup file to revive them to get answers.
Restore Point’s plot feels like it could have been plucked from a neo-noir anime series or a sci-fi video game, but Cecka and Jecelin sparingly utilize action sequences for chase set pieces. Rather, this story emphasizes a dialogue-heavy mystery with a concept-heavy premise that requires loads of exposition. Even so, it doesn’t feel overly talky, crafting an intriguing world that we feel invested in. It’s set in 2041, but it still resembles the contemporary world that we’re familiar with, except more technologically advanced.
The mystery isn’t too difficult to figure out, although the ride remains enjoyable. The narrative tries to twist and turn with layers of complexities, but it all boils down to a rather simple revelation. Restore Point thrives in the smaller realizations along the way, generating crafty storytelling hooks that beg for further exploration. The revival technology leaves plenty of questions about its logistics, but a world where death as a universal fear is off the table is undeniably fascinating all on its own.
Restore Point aims for the stars with its ambitious plot, but Hloz appropriately reins the visuals in, deftly avoiding the pitfall of flashy CGI to show off the level of technology in 2041. Holograms and augmented reality give a tease of what exists out there, otherwise maintaining a cold color palette that matches the film’s tone and Mohylová’s stoney lead performance.
Restore Point is an ambitious, yet riveting sociological detective story that raises one fascinating question after another. Hloz offers a very promising directorial debut, even though the mystery and revelations themselves don’t quite measure up to the excellent world-building at work here. This well-paced sci-fi thriller captivates, but it will leave you wanting to learn more.
Rating: 3.5/5
Restore Point played at Fantasia 2023 on July 24th, 2023.
