Starring Inez Dahl Torhaug, Jesper Barkselius, Eva Melande, Sarah Shirpey and Oscar Töringe

Directed by Victor Dannell

XYZ Films, out now

Years ago, Denise (Inez Dahl Torhaug) lost her father, an obsessive amateur ufologist. He and the other members of UFO Sweden are convinced something is happening in the skies above their country. And years after the disappearance, Denise realises they’re right…

This is being marketed because of a gimmick, and while it’s an interesting one it’s not central to the movie. AI has been used to match the lip movements of the actors to the English language track. That track has been recorded by the original cast to keep it as close as possible. It’s a great idea, and a great set of performances too. Whether you like the ‘dubbing’ is entirely up to you. I thought it was okay, but there’s a weird disconnect between the lower and upper half of the cast’s faces that never quite goes away. In a while it’s going to work perfectly and that opens up a whole other list of questions, as every use of generative AI seems to do. Right now it’s okay.

The movie on the other hand is delightful. There’s a hint of Stranger Things, and inevitably, Scandi-noir to it but what you get most of all is Spielberg. This is a classic found family story, mixed with that sense of being just to the left of the impossible Spielberg, cosmic horror and Interstellar all explore so well. Watch the Skies stands shoulder to shoulder with them.

A massive part of why is the cast. The members of UFO Sweden are a delightful group of grounded, realistic misfits. Hakahn Ehn especially is fantastic as Gunnar, the oldest member of the group and the most terrified of them actually finding anything. There’s real poignancy to him, and his plot resolves in a way that’s both very moving and very subtle.

But the stars of the show here are Jesper Barkselius and Inez Dahl Torhaug. Barkselius is brilliant as Lennart, the former scientist turned believer who’s lost everything and is terrified of getting it back. He’s endlessly calm, endlessly panicked, always driven, always locked in place. He gets one of the big emotional moments of the movie by raising a hand and I hope this leads to him getting more work, he’s superb.

But this has to be Inez Dahl Torhaug’s show as Denise and she knocks it out of the park. Torhaug perfectly embodies the combination of horror, fury, pride and grief that Denise feels and she holds your attention constantly. You want something to go right for her and it so rarely does and she never stops trying. It’s a great, Spielbergian performance and the third act especially is towering work.

Verdict: This is a character piece first but it’s not science fiction by name only. The payoff here takes a while but is earned and beautiful. Something impossible is out there, things can change. As long as you keep watching the skies. Which in this case is a pleasure. 10/10

Alasdair Stuart

 

Watch the Skies is on limited release now.