Radio Free Albemuth

Radio Free Albemuth_720p(480P)

This film remains on the festival circuit, which will possibly feed it's cult status. I caught up with a new cut at the London Sci-Fi film festival in May 2012. Those interested in the science fiction of Philip K. Dick should try to track it down. It is hardly an 'adaptation' of Dick's last novel, Radio Free Albemuth -- it's more a direct transcription of it. That's a pretty tall order, given that it features interstellar communications from an extraterrestrial god called VALIS, who beams down messages from an orbiting satellite, through visions and portentous dreams. This really happened to him in 1974, so Philip Dick claimed (after years of amphetamine abuse and mental anguish), and he spent the last ten years of his life writing about VALIS. Perhaps the only way to treat this material is to accept Dick's version of events and replay it with a straight face. This is what the film-makers do. Some of it is uneven, some of it is constrained by budget, but it remains an authentic Phildickian experience. Best is the way this druggy 70s Californian counter-cultural novel is slyly updated: the vision of America as a near fascist state, ruled by volunteer morality squads (and by mandatory punishment of those it perceives as 'subversives') has provocative things to say about Bush-era Republicanism and Tea Party moralising. Chase it down!

source: Radio Free Albemuth

I really enjoyed this film. The performances by Shea Whigham, Jonathan Scarfe, Scott Wilson and Katheryn Winnick are all solid and ring true. Alanis Morisette is captivating as Sylvia (although she is physically different in appearance from the character in the book). Hanna Hall as the young right wing political operative Vivian Kaplan is amusingly subversive. Director/screenwriter John Alan Simon captures the mentality of the times (early 70s) about which Dick writes: The paranoia, drugs, perceived power of pop rock music to effect social change and the left wing politics. Although he moves the setting to the mid 80s, replacing the Nixon Era with that of Reagan, the issues still reverberate. The script allows enough space for Philip K. Dick's fascinating and fantastic ideas to breathe. I recommend this film. If you haven't read Philip K. Dick you will want to after seeing this film!

I saw RFA at the Revelation Film Festival here in Perth two nights ago. I haven't read the book, but Dick fans in the audience seemed well pleased. One said he was surprised at how much of the book had made it into the film. Translating any book to the screen is difficult, but a book by Philip K Dick would be doubly so. After seeing Blade Runner I read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and found the detachment and lack of emotion very off-putting. For example, Roy Baty doesn't deliver a stirring monologue in his final moments. His death is reduced to one cold sentence - something like, "Deckard went into the room where Roy was standing, and retired him." On the basis of the Dick novels I have read, I would say that John Simon, the scriptwriter and director, added just the right degree of emotional tension. Ambiguity is another common feature in Dick's writing. In the book Do Androids etc, Deckard is left wondering whether one of his co-workers is a replicant. This is the question that Ridley Scott transferred to Deckard himself in the movie. Radio Free Albemuth left me wondering again and again, were these people really hearing divine voices? Or were they just a bunch of free-ranging nutters? 9 out of 10 for a well made and thought provoking film.

I am not a science fiction fan but this movie was recommended to me so I went to see it and was very surprised- it was engaging, insightful and the character relationships were fabulous. In particular, the two lead male characters (nick and phil) were great together - the movie ix extremely thought provoking and it was a movie that I would go see a second time! The music was beautiful and I found myself wanting to listen the score again. Alanis Morrisette was a surprise addition for me as i was unaware she was doing any acting and i found her to be a great surprise! Best surprise of the night was the role played by Hannah Hall - she was great in a very unusual part!!

What does that mean? The movie Radio Free Albemuth is a carefully crafted adaptation of a novel by Philip K. Dick. Critics who claim the story is disjointed or difficult to follow cannot blame the film makers. Blame Phil for that. If you're not up for a mind-boggling mixture of political conspiracy theories combined with an ancient alien satellite that beams insights and information to one of the main characters, Nicholas Brady (who happens to be remarkably like the real-life author), all witnessed by his worried friend Phil the writer (who truly is based on PKD), then perhaps you should click on over to something more sedate and sensible. If you've never heard of Philip K. Dick, who knows this could be your gateway movie. You might get hooked. PKD is famous for blending philosophical, theological and political intrigue into one story, and not some huge, winding tome. He could do it in a short story or 200-page pulp fiction back in the day. Does it translate to the screen? Other movie makers have taken PKD concepts like futuristic "thought police", who can catch criminals before they commit the crime, and turned it into a Tom Cruise thriller (Minority Report, 2002.) Or, more recently another PKD short story about psychosis vs. actual metaphysical interference with Earth, was turned into a fantasy Rom-Com (The Adjustment Bureau, 2011.) This is true of around a dozen PKD story-to-movie adaptations. What makes Radio Free Albemuth unique, and worth the high rating, is that writer/director John Alan Simon stayed faithful to the original PKD story. So, do I recommend it? Yes! You might not read a Philip K. Dick novel, so for a few bucks you can find out what a real Phil story is like. Over on Amazon.com, I went so far as to say RFA should be mandatory viewing for everyone under thirty, or for anyone who has forgotten or doesn't believe that history repeats itself. Given the current NSA surveillance tactics and increasing militarization of local police forces in America, Radio Free definitely has an important message. Just remember, it's not a straightforward path. You also get to see Shea Whigham (Eli on HBO's Boardwalk Empire) play PKD, watch Alanis Morissette sing and act, and gaze at the beautiful Katheryn Winnick, of the TV Vikings series, as Nick Brady's confused and conflicted wife. As Phiip K. Dick's real-life widow says, "if you want action, watch Transformers." RFA is about interaction; rich in dialog, political intrigue, and subliminal communication. There's also the mystical and mysterious visions too that the film makers portray exactly as some of us long-time PKD fans have wanted to see. Bottom line: Radio Free Albemuth is a faithful portrayal of PKD's fears about the future at a time when it couldn't be more relevant. Watch and join the conspiracy!

It was surprisingly satisfying to see a much-loved work adapted to screen in a way that felt, smelled, tasted like the book. There are times I read Dick and his characters' affect is brusque, maybe wooden. Intentionally or not, it was that way in parts in the film, and I loved it. It was the most home-y Dick adaptation I've ever seen. At no point did I feel the film directed the work away from his mind, his work, his thoughts. I was home, back in his books, but on the screen. In Wales we have a word; "hiraeth". Sort of a longing, a wistful lack of home and hearth that one was. To be rid of the hiraeth one has to go home and dig one's toes into the soil, breathe in the atmosphere, and reminisce. That feeling is what I got watching this film... my Philip K. Dick hiraeth was reset for a while. Very, very few of Dick's works have been so lovingly and faithfully placed on screen. In this instance I got exactly what I wanted: a faithful transformation from page to screen, and damn the horses. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I had the fortune to watch this film during a local SF festival (SFF Rated - Athens) with the director introducing the film and doing a Q&A session afterwards. As most reviewers mention, it's the most faithful screen adaptation of a P.K.Dick book to date. The actors were great (I was happily surprised by Alanis Morissette's performance) and the Valis design was perfect. What I loved most about the film is its timeless look. The story could have taken place 20 years ago, today, or even 5 years from now. It's a quality that is hard to find in films lately, either in period films where everything looks antique, or most Sci-Fi movies where everything takes place in an unapproachable future... I would gladly watch it again and anxiously waiting for a DVD release.

This small independent/low budget film is built on extremely effective uses of science fiction coupled with religion coupled with political resistance to totalitarian power and a weird species of multidimensional autobiography that coalesces to provide a very, very satisfying conclusion and a sharp emotional experience. Shea Whigham carries the film, he's great. Hanna Hall is a most excellent villain. The story reminded me of The Man in the High Castle, another PK Dick novel featuring alternative parallel universes. The story is inspired by real paranormal events that PK Dick and his wife Tessa experienced in Los Angeles in the 1980s. highly recommend this for lovers of cerebral film.