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A Scanner Darkly * Richard Linklater (2006)

When I picked this film, I had no idea that “A Scanner Darkly” is of the director of the lauded “Boyhood”. I have not seen that film, but I am sure that “A Scanner Darkly” is a wholly different film. First of all, it is an animation. What I find weird is that sometimes the images are very detailed and look quite like a ‘normal’ film, while at other times the images are very crude. Perhaps this is a compliment to the animators, but the film also looks like it was just filmed and played using an ‘animation filter’.

In the near future 80% of the people are addicted to “Substance D” or other drugs. The police if fighting the drug dealers. Keanu Reeves plays an infiltrant who gets addicted too. With flashbacks to Reeves’ characters past, but mostly during the investigations that his superiors conduct, we are in a world in which ‘Big Brother is watching’. It looks like the people in charge do not really care about the situation of the citizens though. As the investigation continues, it makes a circle that reminds a bit of a certain 1973 classic with a slightly similar story.

An alright film with touches upon some contemporary themes.

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