A cryogenically frozen man revives with high hopes in this sci-fi drama from filmmaker Mateo Gil.
Marc Jarvis is an advertising executive who has learned he has terminal throat cancer. Learning he has just over a year left to live, he goes as far as try to end his relationship with longtime girlfriend Naomi, who had met with her ex, who had hoped he would get back together with her. She chooses Marc over her ex and decides to help him through his ordeal. Marc soon reads a story about cryogenics and the possibility of curing diseases as a result. Marc decides to take part in the experiment.
Awakening 70 years later, Marc is revived by a team led by Dr. Victor West. Marc undergoes both physical therapy and other brands of experiments in hopes that he will be able to be cured of his cancer. This includes wearing a pair of glasses that enable him to see images from his past. He even goes as far as bonding with Elizabeth, Dr. West’s assistant, to the point of possibly falling for her. However, as Marc continues his therapy, he begins to think that maybe everything is not as it seems. When Marc learns the reality of what has endured, he must come to a decision that could change his life forever.
Mateo Gil has come up with an interesting science fiction-drama whose title can be said to have a double meaning. If you break the title Realive down, it can be said “Re-alive”, which pertains to the central character of Marc being revived from his cryogenically frozen state. However, if one really thinks about it, Realive does have a bit of a combination close to sounding like “real life”, which definitely pertains to the entire basis of the film.
This is truly of those films you cannot miss even a second of, or perhaps it will not make sense. The reason is that our central character of Marc not only takes us to his present state in the future, but also goes as far back as his being born, which is shown as if we’re watching Nova’s The Miracle of Life, as the film’s opening up to his childhood days in a series of flashbacks that aren’t specifically told in a chronological order. This might cause some detractors as a result, but it really shouldn’t because the viewer is engaged in Marc’s journey all while he attempts to find out whether he will be able to be cured and live a long life.
Tom Hughes performs really well as Marc, our central character. We get to see him in both our present day and in the future self, in which he looks like he could be coming out of The Matrix, which perhaps played a bit of influence in the film in terms of the use of a plug in the back of the next and the real state of the patients after their revival. Charlotte Le Bon makes for great support as Marc’s love interest in the future with Oona Chaplin bringing the dramatics as Marc’s love interest in our present day. Barry Ward’s Doctor West is not so much a bad guy, but someone who is discovered to have been able to revive patients in hopes of actually doing what Marc is hoping. However, we soon learn that Dr. West may be the type to perhaps bring Marc’s hopes up as a cover for something more pleasing to the facility’s funders and yet, brings a more grounded perspective on things.
Realive’s double meaning makes for quite an interesting sci-fi drama, emphasizing on the drama and less on the sci-fi aspect. However, it does make one think that just because it’s the future, can everything be as what is expected?
WFG RATING: B
Syfy Films presents an Arcadia Motion Pictures production in association with Achaman Films AIE, Canal+ España, Noodles Productions, Scope Pictures, and Televisión España. Director: Mateo Gil. Producers: Ibon Cormenzana, Igansi Estapé, and Jérôme Vidal. Writer: Mateo Gil. Cinematography: Pau Esteve Birba. Editing: Guillero de la Cal.
Cast: Tom Hughes, Charlotte Le Bon, Oona Chaplin, Barry Ward, Julio Perillán, Rafael Cebrián, Bruno Sevilla, Daniel Horvath, Alex Hafner, Godeliv Van den Brandt, Melina Matthews.
This film will be released in select theaters on September 29 followed by a VOD and Digital HD release on October 3.
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