Vesper Review

Vesper is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi film and a co-production between Lithuania, France, and Belgium.

In the future humanity has fallen into a new Dark Age. The elites in the Citadel control all the resources for food production and the rest of humanity toil on a hostile planet. Vesper (Raffiella Chapman) is a young girl who’s a skilled biohacker and cares for her paralysed father (Richard Brake). She harbours dreams of going to the Citadel and using her skills. Vesper may get that opportunity when she finds the survivor of a crash ship, Camellia (Rosy McEwen).

The opening of Vesper felt a lot like the 2014 dystopia film Snowpiercer. Both films opened with text explaining that in a desperate attempt to avert climate catastrophe humanity ended up making it worse. In Vesper all plants and animals became inedible and the only food available were seeds from the Citadel, but the seeds were genetically altered so they couldn’t reproduce.

The Citadel’s role leads to another comparison to Snowpiercer, the themes of capitalism and control of the masses. The elite lived in high towers that watched over the people who struggle to serve. The people on the ground must pay for seeds with blood. The message couldn’t be more obvious if the filmmakers tried. Added to that Camellia claimed that there weren’t enough resources to go around in the Citadel and that’s why people on the ground live and work there, instead of a class of genetically created people. Camellia’s answer was the jugs were easier to control.

The environmental and class themes also brought to mind films like Blade Runner, Soylent Green, and the works of Hayao Miyazaki. These are good reference points for any filmmakers. Like the original Blade Runner the use of biological engineering was required to survive, Vesper and Blade Runner 2049 showed the ecological destruction Earth had suffered, and like Miyazaki’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Vesper showed nature being a dangerous force to humanity.

There was also an element of David Cronenberg in Vesper. The technology in Vesper had a biological component to them. This included the life support system for Vesper’s dad, the plasters Vesper created, and the innards of the drone that Vesper’s dad controlled. It was a unique look. Vesper’s greenhouse had shades of Avatar because her plants glowed in the dark and Camellia was awestruck by them. Considering the €5 million budget Vesper did have impressive special effects and CGI.

Vesper’s setup led to the film having a bleak and oppressive tone. It was a tough world where death was ever-present. It was a world where even children were forced into violence. There were long shots showing the empty fields and the deathly flora which illustrated how harsh the world had become.

Whilst Vesper had strong references and themes, it means nothing if the story and characters weren’t worth investing in. Vesper manages that. The titular character was like a Miyazaki protagonist. Vesper was an intelligent girl who had to care for her ailing father and harboured hope despite the bleak world. Chapman gave an excellent performance as she struggled to survive.

There were moments of warmth in the film despite the darkness. Camellia acted as a big sister to Vesper and there were heartfelt moments between the pair. One such moment was when Vesper and Camellia looked through a picture book filled with animals and Camellia made all the sounds these animals made.

Although Vesper was filmed in Lithuania and the crew was made up of Lithuanian and French nationals, the main cast members were British. This was done because an English-language film would be easier to finance and market. The most recognisable member of the cast was Eddie Marsan who played the villain of the piece. Marsan has a good track record playing villains and he was solid in Vesper as a calm and calculating leader of a small community. There was often tension when he was on screen, whether it was telling one of his young followers to kill a wounded jug, or threatening Vesper with his coded messages.

Vesper is a solid sci-fi that managed to tell an intimate story in the midst of a bleak and harsh world. The political commentary may not be subtle, but it wasn’t overbearing as the film worked on its characters and world-building. Hopefully it will become a cult hit.