RUBIKON – Review

By Marc Butterfield

A toxic cloud of pollution has swallowed the earth, killing untold numbers. The world’s nations have dissolved, with all power now in the hands of giant corporations. The rich retreat to sealed biodomes while the poor choke and starve. On the space station Rubikon, Hannah (Julia Franz Richter), Gavin (George Blagden), and Dimitri (Mark Ivanir) weigh the fate of the planet’s survivors. Should these crewmembers risk their own lives on a rescue mission to the surface, or ignore the old world to build a new one of safety and solitude, living off the station’s sophisticated algae symbiosis system? Against the vast canvas of the cosmos, three people with different worldviews debate their moral responsibility to the species, all while grappling with the timely agony of isolation.

RUBIKON is a low-budget film, but what money it did get was well-spent. The acting is adequate, not overdone, and the cast affords the material all of the gravity it deserves. Now, having said this, lets look at the story: Rubikon is a space station that houses an interesting assortment of scientists and engineer, chief among is Dmitri, who is responsible for the main experiment on board, algae that produces oxygen for the astronauts. This in itself is hardly a new thought, recently explored in the Netflix movie “Stowaway” where the amount of oxygen an algae based rebreather system can generate. In RUBIKON it seems to be more than just a plot device for how long they can live, but a McGuffin that can save all of humanity…or at least the survivors contacting the crew of the Rubikon for help. The themes explored are class warfare, duty, sacrifice, trust…non uncommon, with space based dramas. The three survivors on the Rubikon seem to be metaphors for the people they left behind: The enforcers for the corporate bosses, the enlightened environmental activists who are ironically part of the privileged class,  and the scientific class who are tasked with finding solutions that the greed of mankind created to start with. In other words, a cynic, an idealist, and a pragmatist…and at times these roles are switched around.

It’s a bit heavy-handed, definitely a bit preachy, and has the requisite number of stupid mistakes that could destroy them all. The message is salient, and in no way should be dismissed by the casual viewer, and it does manage to be entertaining, but in a Netflix movie of the week kind of way, not in a “must see on the big screen” kind of way.

Directed by Leni Lauritsch and written by Jessica Lind & Leni Lauritsch, RUBIKON does leave you with a positive note, but in general the whole thing is cynical, and in many cases sad, and makes the watcher root for each of it’s characters at different times, but never gets you excited enough for any of them to truly ROOT for them. You are almost left feeling like maybe humanity finally got what it really deserved, and giving them hope will ruin that lesson. Lets call this one a “skip it, unless you just have nothing more important to do”.

2 out of 4 stars

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https://www.ifcfilms.com/films/rubikon