A DYSTOPIA AND A SLICE OF HISTORY: "THX 1138"

I kinda knew this film was going to be depressing. But it is a classic – and I mean properly, a real classic. As in film history and stuff. I mean, think what you want of George Lucas, he is a significant part of film history. And it’s kind of important to know about him. AND if you’re interested in dystopias – in a professional capacity or just because you like them – this is one of the important ones. Which is why I watched it. No regrets =)

Our story takes place in the future – as it usually does. In the 25^th Century, humanity lives in cities underground and every aspect of life is strictly controlled, with authority and more importantly, with drugs. Roommates area allocated by an automated system, prayers are said in sterile chapels to an automated God. The highest possible levels of productivity and the lowest possible degrees of emotion are made possible through the use of heavy sedatives. However, not everyone agrees with the system. Not everyone thinks this is a good idea. LUH 3417 for instance, a spirited young woman, is part of the rebellion. Not only that, she actually starts substituting the sedatives of her roommate THX 1138 so he discovers his humanity and emotions. THX begins to feel strange – otherwise known as emotions. And one of the emotions is love for LUH, a love that is quickly reciprocated. However things like love, sex and not taking drugs are serious offences in this world. And The Powers That Be soon discover the subterfuge and catch the couple... Will THX be able to use his new found humanity to survive? Or ultimately, will he be consumed by the all powerful system?

Well we all know the George Lucas penchant for grand scale, battles between good and evil and the trope of the individual against the entire – evil – system (Think Luke Skywalker against the Empire. Same difference). Also, you don’t need me to point out the fact that the whole storyline bears a rather eerie resemblance to the classic book Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. I mean yes, there are no end to the number of twists on the story but twist it as you will, it is still the variation of the same story. Oh don’t get me wrong, Lucas’s film doesn’t fail at being emotionally engaging, heck, in my opinion, it’s almost what Lucas is best at. It’s just that I cannot seem to shake the feeling that the film has been “done before” as it were. I think the main reason for this is the fact that there are so many familiar themes, thoughts and stories in there; Lucas creates a powerful hybrid of them all, united with some brilliant strands of his own but... I don’t know. I felt it’s lacking the thing that forms the transition from Good to Great. I mean, it was his first feature to be fair. And it is part of film history. But still...