Cinema Egzotik: The Not So Distant Future Night

Egzotik programmer Martin Koolhoven explains: “The not so distant future. In 1981 it happened to be 1997, and so John Carpenter”s Escape from New York is set in that year. Kurt Russell plays the antihero of all antiheroes: Snake Plissken. In what may well be the toughest and coolest film ever, he is called in to rescue the president of the United States from the hands of prisoners in Manhattan, which has been turned into one big jail.

In Gattaca (made in 1997) progress has made it possible for parents to determine the characteristics of their children before they”re born. Ethan Hawke, however, was born in the old-fashioned way and he needs to hold his own among people who are just perfect. Dutch art director Jan Roelfs was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction.”

Gattaca Andrew Niccol, US, 1997, 106”, English spoken, Dutch subtitlesGenetically enhanced superhumans are in control, lesser mortals are forced do the menial jobs. Vincent (Ethan Hawke), an 'In-Valid' with a bad heart, defies the system, assumes the identity of someone with the right gene packet and enrols in the Gattaca Academy astronaut training programme. Also starring Uma Thurman and Jude Law. Spectacular sci-fi art direction. +Escape from New York John Carpenter, US, 1981, English spoken, Dutch subtitlesThe year is 1997: our regular Egzotik favourite Kurt Russell finds himself in Manhattan, which has been turned into a mega prison ruled by rough and violent types. His mission: to rescue the president of the United States after Air Force One crashed on the island. In spite of the relatively limited technology available at the time, the art direction manages to bring across a grimy and dark atmosphere. And Russell? Russell”s Snake. Snake Plissken. “Call me Snake.”