Evolution (Lucile Hadzihalillovic, 2015): France, Belgium, Spain

Reviewed by Omar Gomez. Viewed at the AFI Festival 2015.

Evolution proved to be an amazing structured film, filled with amazing shots, natural colors, eccentric characters, psychological twists, and messages empowering the feminine image in society. Though it manifested a completely different view on how our humanity is reproduce, it stills makes us question where we really came from. The story takes place on an isolated island filled with specifically women and boys, giving us a display of gender we are used to seeing in feministic films. The story unfolds with a beautiful scene shot from iderneath the water focusing on the external sun, the scene sort of figuring human evolution through time. We then find Nicolas (Max Brebant) swimming through the water, then making a discovery that is going to change his perspective and bring up a question of origin and where he really came from. The story is a unique combination of paradise and also a very distinct view on how society can evolve over the ages.