With recent global warming causing unpredictable weather patterns worldwide, and documentary films such as 'Chasing Ice' and 'An Inconvenient Truth' bringing more awareness to environmental issues, it reminds me of the plethora of sci-fi and dystopian movies that bombarded theatre screens as I was growing up in Canada in the 70's. Most of the ilk, perhaps to necessitate dramatic strength for the film's structure, maybe due to civil unrest from political turmoil worldwide in the late 60's, presented a future extremely difficult to endure and preciously doubtful to either survive or maintain. 'Idaho Transfer' was no exception.
Director Fonda was obviously very talented, and the cinematography is beautiful for such a low-budget piece. The time-travel ideas were uniquely conceived, and though the soundtrack was dated, it worked for me. Fonda realized that like the landscape and the solitary experience the teenagers were facing, one needs to let the ideas have a chance to breathe and reveal their multifaceted meanings. Though the actors weren't professional, the casting works because of the naturalistic, almost documentarian approach Fonda utilized. The pessimism of 'Idaho Transfer' and its bleak outlook--that even though science may be able to, in theory, save humanity, human nature may not be able to handle the idea of a 'utopia' so easily--shows us, two generations later, how interconnected art and politics are, and how important it is NOW to take a stand and support what is truly necessary for mankind, while there is still a chance for us to do so, and a world worthy of saving.
I fervently wish that Fonda had directed more films! =)
