Up There (Zam Salim 2011): UK

Reviewed by Jacqueline Kaden. Viewed at the Santa Barbara Film Festival.

Zam Salim premiers his film Up there at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival with much flurry and anticipation. Up There is Salim’s first feature-length film, having been adapted from a short film. Zam has been directing, writing, producing and editing films since 2003 and has an impressive list of films that he has worked on. This movie is a great starting place for Salim’s feature length film career and I am anxious to see what he makes next. My praise for Salim is focused on his ability to connect the viewer in a simple way that does not end painfully when the movie is over. He directs the viewer to feel enough connection to the characters that they are engaged, but not too much that the viewer is overly invested and wants to know what happens after the film is over. This is a tricky line to walk, but Salim nailed it. My criticism is in the creativity of the film. For this film, the bland themes play an important role, but I hope Salim can break out of this when he makes other films with other themes.

Up There is about Martin who is hit by a car and must come to terms with his death, the loss of his wife, and life after death. Martin (and the viewer) is quickly introduced to the bureaucracy of the afterlife which includes forms, papers, weekly support groups, people who cannot come to terms with their death, and what those in the afterlife call “starers.” Martin quietly finds a job as a one who helps the newly deceased get the bureaucratic process going and get them checked in. Martin is working toward one thing: to get Up There, a staircase in the after death center which leads somewhere wonderful. When Rash, a loud, obnoxious, and unsubtle guy is paired up with Martin to welcome the deceased, Martin must travel and track down a deceased boy who books it at the sight of Rash. If Martin does not find this boy on time, his chance at getting Up There will be lost. Can Rash and Martin work together long enough to find this boy? Can Martin finally come to accept his death? And is Rash really going to be a starer?

The first thing that anyone notices about this film is the dark humor intermixed with quiet sadness and dark ideas. though Martin’s story is essentially about death, the viewer is kept laughing the entire film through the juxtaposition of Rash’s energy and Martin’s hazy gaze. This film is subtle in style and full of existential questions that we deal with every day. Salim directs the film to ask these questions which are so daunting to the everyday person. Salim makes Martin and the movie ask questions like, how do I deal with loss? How can I work and feel needed through grief? How do I deal with people who I do not like?