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Movie Review: Above and Below fails to pull itself together

“Above and Below” is a 2015 creative non-fiction documentary detailing the life of four different survivalists trying to make the most of life in their respective contexts. The film, directed by Nicholas Steiner, offers an interesting peek into a separate side of civilization, a more blunt and in-the-trenches way of living.

To put it bluntly, this film isn’t that great. Perhaps I just don’t get it, because most critics are praising the movie on its visuals and examinations on life. Both of these aspects were fine, but in no way do they carry the two-hour runtime.

The docu-drama is shot in a way that blurs the line between fiction and reality. These could very well be actors portraying real life scenarios, but everything is left so ambiguous that it’s difficult to know explicitly. It gets to the point where “Above and Below” feels ambiguous for the sake of being ambiguous. Incidentally, it comes off as pretentious.

We’re quickly introduced to three homeless people who live underground in Las Vegas. They seem at peace with their living situation, although it’s never explained to the audience whether they live there by choice or by necessity. This is one of various pieces of information that we’re left to ponder.

I cannot empathize with these characters because they seem actually quite happy with their lives. I don’t relate to them because their lifestyle is vastly different from my own. Nothing in the film makes me care for these “characters” because I only know one thing about them: they live in underground tunnels. Yes, okay, cool.

It’s somewhat fascinating, for what it’s worth, but the plot really doesn’t go anywhere. The audience is left to decipher the meaning of the film with respect to the other featured scenarios: a NASA training facility in the desert preparing for a Mars mission and a lonesome man living in solitude in... another desert I suppose?

Everyone has one thing in common: they’re all adventuring for the sake of doing so and, in turn, searching for unique forms of fulfillment, be it space travel or a bed to sleep on for the night. They’re all tied together by invisible tethers of motivation that we are expected to acknowledge.

However, the cinematography is pretty. I’m a sucker for wide-shots, and “Above and Below” is a good source for any aesthete to get their fix. We’re reminded just how beautiful the desert can be through radiant sunsets and polished, snowbound landscapes. Not that we in Albuquerque need a reminder.

The movie could and should have had a better story to go with it. There’s no linear narrative, hardly any exposition and the dialogue is so aimless at times it’s baffling. Of course a story can only provide so much, and documentaries don’t ever need stories to be exhilarating, but this film seems to be constructed for, and without, a pulling factor. The music, the cinematography, the characters — it’s all put in place for a plot that never was.

But there’s something for someone here — perhaps a moving notion about making life worth living regardless of circumstance. At the very least, it’s interesting to see these people live in such vastly different ways. I suppose that alone is the point of the film. But “Above and Below” left me with nothing to write home about.

“Above and Below” will be playing in the SUB Theater this weekend, presented by the Southwest Film Center. Showtimes and prices can be found at swfc.unm.edu.

Audrin Baghaie is a culture reporter and movie reviewer for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @AudrinTheOdd.

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