"This is Science Fiction"

10 January 2022

2 mins

Bringing the future closer.

This remarkable film offers a brutal depiction of a parent's helplessness when their child is afflicted by something terrible. It's excellent from start to end, but the part that stays with you is when the young footballer collapses on the field, and Ben Strebel's camera fully captures her mother's distress as she realises her greatest fear is about to be realised.

The crux of the film is that what once seemed impossible is now an everyday event... and what seems impossible today will become everyday in the future. If we fund it.

And it persuades us of this by offering a brutal appraisal of those for whom the advancements may be too late. It could be impossible to save Sophie – the girl who collapses while playing football – because what's required remains in the realm of science fiction.

Before we get to the emotional sequence at the centre of the film, we bear witness to a little boy sporting the kind of scar that only a majorly-invasive heart operation will deliver. His father is affectionately assuring him that he's going to have a great first day at school, and the exchange is imbued with the enhanced love of a parent who's had to confront the possibility of loss. It's all there and we can feel it, even though the sequence occupies less than fifteen seconds.

Cillian Murphy's intriguing voiceover then sets out the theme of the commercial, the conversion of science fiction into science proper... the devoted efforts of the most brilliant humans among us to create options for the most hopeless of medical scenarios. Their dedication and determination is awe-inspiring so Strebel provides awe and inspiration, and – in doing so – ensures that we lend his film our full concentration. And, because of that, the impact of Sophie's collapse hits us really hard.

Those who've followed the career of Ben Strebel will recognise how perfectly suited he is to deliver this film. It required someone who could provide an ethereal tone which is grounded in humanity, and he's nailed this seeming paradox.

It's also a film which makes you want to donate. And as important as it is to raise awareness, raising funds is even better... and we hope this raises a hatful of money for the British Heart Foundation.

UK

Charities