A Scanner Darkly
11 July 2006, lunch time
After attending a protest to mark the student uprising in Tehran in 1999, I met up with Dave and Patrick to watch A Scanner Darkly. It is a very cool film. The movie is based on the book by Philip K. Dick, who wrote Blade Runner and Minority Report. As you would expect, the movie is about a dark and dystopian future. Keanu Reaves plays an undercover narcotics officer who is getting more and more addicted a drug called substance D; substance D addiction is a nationwide pandemic. The film is funny at times, but gets quite depressing and dark as the story progresses. The film is quasi-animated; It’s hard to describe, so go watch the trailer. The film is really good, so you should definitely check it out.
From the Wired article about the movie process:
It’s a process known as rotoscoping: Artists digitally trace over some frames of live-action footage by hand with a Wacom pen and tablet. Custom software fills in the rest.
Though it’s a classic dystopia story, I had a lot of trouble caring about the characters. Never read the book, though.
by jesse on July 18 2006, 6:18 pm #