Always on the look out of good new films, we found Oxygen. A science fiction story built upon an interesting premise. What would happen if you find yourself waking up from cryogenic stasis with no memory of how you got there?
About
This is one of the latest French films to hit Netflix, we watched the English dubbed version with English Subtitles on (incase of major differences in the audio and subtitles).
Oxygen is a French survival thriller directed by Alexandre Aja. The film tells a story of a young woman (Melanie Laurent), who wakes up from a cryogenic pod. She does not remember who she is and how she ended up there. To end this nightmare, she must remember and rebuild her memory to find a way out.
Link to French Official Trailer (with English subtitles)
Scene Favourites
As always minor spoilers ahead. We will aim to avoid the major spoilers and will not include any thoughts about the ending (other than if it was good). These scenes should show off the film and tell you if it is worth watching.
Credit – Shanna Besson
A Failing Machine
Flashing red lights in a small space, we enter the world of Oxygen in a very visual way. It makes the viewer feel on edge and wondering why the main character got into this situation. She is tied to a machine and does not know why, we get snapshots of what look like memories. The use of lighting in this scene is terrific, all the way up to the AI reveal.
“MILO”, the machine AI is very clinical in his responses. MILO at the start of the movie feels like a hindarence.
Omicron 267
It feels allot like self-discovery for her. She wants to learn her identity and why she cannot remember. Some of the memory scenes of her and her life help the audience problem solve for her. It sets up the future discoveries too.
She feels like she is in a “SAW” situation and she is showing those feelings on her face. She eventually finds out her name and continues the search. It has kept us intrigued with how the story progressed.
Credit – Shanna Besson
Palliative Care
The medical unit/ AI MILO has a directive in a dire situation, she fights this. This amps up the situation with her blood pressure and our own. It is a critical scene that made us keep watching.
In-Coming Call
She continues to search for help and get herself out of this situation. MILO continues to stop her from escaping. It is hard not to spoil the plot, but the scenes develop and show what means to have human spirit. Leo Ferguson is a key topic of the mid arc of the movie, we cannot say more than it pulled us in more.
Deactivate Filtration
Apart from the little jump scare, it shows the most of her current scenario. Showcasing how dire it is and how big the scenario is too. Again, it is a big spoiler to say any more.
It continues to take major spoilers throughout the final act. It continues to expand upon the story and keep the audience guessing on the conclusion.
Credit – Shanna Besson
Overall
The journey from start to finish is a ride. Originally, we thought the pod was in one place and then it was somewhere completely different. It keeps you on tightrope to the finish, it is a terrific story. The acting from the lead character (Melanie Laurent) is terrific showing all the emotions.
We did guess an element of the story’s conclusion early on but it did not ruin the story for us. It is a very good science fiction story that plays on emotions and has a good sense of reality. Well written and well executed.
4/5 We will watch again.
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