The feature debut of Jane Schoenbrun "We're All Going to the World's Fair" has been a dark horse and i've been seeing so many cinephile rave about it and aboard the hype-train. I kept putting it on hold for months even with all its hype, finally watched it. The adolescent loneliness and that dark world of the post-internet era was captured with all honesty, it was beyond creepy. I quickly connected the parallels with The Human Surge (2016) and Window Boy Would Also Like to Have a Submarine (2020). It is a shame that i'm seeing zero reviews for this film on IMDB, I know art is subjective but it's truly baffling to see the low ratings and this compelled me to recall my thoughts on this film and plug it online.
The Human Surge, the first feature film of Eduardo Williams is shot in three very different locations. Williams and his team travelled to three continents: South America, Africa and Asia. He places his characters across the globe, from Buenos Aires, to Maputo, Mozambique, to a small village in the Philippines. The narrative structure of multiple point of view of the interpreter: One that implies the interdependence between man, the environment and the internet. As in his previous short films, the character arcs are similar in his feature debut, they all affect and forge the circumstances of the other, without having a clue about each other; the link (the companionship with Internet) exists and once the chain is activated, the effect is unstoppable. I want to mention that the Human Surge not only exits in the 3 continent shown in the movie but it's everywhere. The characters have a personal point of view living their mundane lives and it really prevails with the collective interest of a youngster, who needs escapisms online. They perform oral sex on webcam, a funny sequence using a banana. One of those men, Alf, who stops to piss on an anthill while on a camping excursion with a buddy. They all undress their skin and wrap oneself in someone else's? I.e. In the digital realm. Much to think about is true, and uncomfortable. It is like a meditation on the Internet that resonates with a generation shaped by neurological abuse and wired relationships without taking side. There can be a solution when you go deeper from a psychological and anthropological point of view. The feeling without a connection for Wifi is seen when a character asks his buddy in the first half of the cinema, go to the extent of staying wired and the only source of light is from the mobiles or computer screen which is captured in the runtime.
I hope Eduardo Williams gets to make a meditative film or maybe a dark comedy without budget limitations set in the dystopian future where VR sex is the future and it's all about digital peep-show with flashback of his early films including this one, and he reshoots the anthill, the Mozambique sequence, Philippines shot and the flood sequences (which gives a post-apocalyptic feel). I'm sure this film will have a divided camp, might piss off many as it might seem pointless just to see dudes with mundane existences from Argentina to Mozambique to the Philippines, linked through cam sites. But it is more than that, there are brilliant transitions and amazing shots throughout the film. To be honest, it's one of those movies that leaves you thinking about it after finishing it.
