The film "Philosophers: A Lesson in Survival" in Russian, our viewers were able to see in 2013. The preliminary trailer interested the general public and was even nominated for the Golden Trailer award in the Foreign Thriller category.
After watching the tape caused various reviews, but basically a general opinion about the film by John Huddles (director and screenwriter) was positive. The film "Philosophers: A Lesson in Survival", in which the actors were selected very well, was remembered for both its extraordinary plot and its good cast.
The plot of the film
Events unfold in colorful places in Indonesia. The film "Philosophers: A Lesson in Survival" talks about how 20 students of an international school attend the last lesson of the philosophy year. Their teacher Mr. Zimmit (whose role was played very successfully by James D'Arcy) considers his main teaching task to make students think outside the box. He offers his students an innocent, at first glance, thought experiment. They must plunge into the atmosphere of the apocalypse that occurred as a result of a nuclear disaster. In total there are 20 students and 1 teacher. There is also a bunker, hiding in which, students can ensure their survival.
The essence of the problem is that there are only 10 places in the bunker, and, as conceived by the hero played by James D'Arcy, students should logically decide which of them deserves a place in the bunker in order to survive the disaster and ensure the survival of the human race, and who It is not the strongest and should be removed from the face of the earth.
Conflict line development
The authors of the film initially distinguish two students - this is the pretty blonde Petra, played by the young actress Sophie Lowe, and a student named James, played by Reese Wakefield. An ardent student romance begins between these young people.
At the moment when he and the rest of the students in his class begin to take part in Mr. Zimmit’s thought experiment, it becomes clear that the teacher is hostile to this couple for some reason. He does not miss the opportunity to hurt young people, trying to manipulate them and bring them to conflict.
According to Zimmit’s scenario, for students to be able to make the right logical conclusion and leave places in the bunker only for the best, everyone is supposed to take out a card showing his candidate’s profession and some features (genetic diseases, a tendency to oncology, sexual preferences, etc.). The film "Philosophers: A Lesson in Survival", in which the actors perfectly performed the task set before them (to portray people tormented by the difficulty of choosing), shows how difficult it is to disengage from feelings, sympathies, friendly ties and make decisions based on logic alone .
Each hero has his own double role
In the film Philosophers: A Lesson in Survival, each actor has an exclusive role to play, not only in the main plot, but also in the thought experiment itself. The complexity of the choices that the guys have to make is compounded by the fact that the conditions are constantly changing. For example, a student of Georgia (played by the wonderful actress Bonnie Wright) draws out a card stating that she is an orthopedic doctor. Naturally, everyone immediately agrees that such a person in the bunker is simply necessary, because without a doctor it will be very difficult to survive in an apocalypse. But after the first thought experiment crashed, and Mr. Zimmer allowed the students to make another attempt, it turned out that the heroine of Georgia had only recently returned from a long trip, and it was possible that during the execution of her doctoral duty she could become infected with Ebola. After this news of the vital, as it seemed at first, doctor, it was decided to leave for doom.
Hard choise
A student named Utami, who was played by the German actress Tsinta Laura Kiel, in the thought experiment got the role of an opera singer, who, with her skills, would seem to bring no benefit to the surviving in the bunker in building the future world. But it turns out that she is fluent in six foreign languages. And its value increases dramatically, because, it turns out, it can help survivors establish contact with others, the same chosen, who were saved in different corners of the globe in similar bunkers. But a little later, it turns out that three years later Utami will get throat cancer, and since there will be no doctor on the team who survived the nuclear disaster, no one can remove her tumor. As a result, the girl will lose her ability to speak and will not be able to use her skills; accordingly, students come to the conclusion that there is no free space left for her in the bunker. Thus, the film “Philosophers: A Lesson in Survival,” whose actors play their images perfectly, makes us think about many things. In particular, that one should not judge a person, possessing only superficial information about him.
The most vivid images and roles
Another bright actor managed to create a very bright and charismatic image - Daryl Sabara. He got the role of an erudite student named Chips. According to the script, he pulled out a card, which during the apocalypse was intended to be a carpenter. Since this profession turned out to be very popular and difficult to replace in building a new world, Chips easily got into the number of favorites. But during the second attempt to get into the bunker, students discover that the hero, who was perfectly played by Daryl Sabara, is sterile.
In the last attempt, Chips gives his right to survive to Petra and decides to try to stay alive on his own, on a remote island, surrounded by many beautiful girls who, like him, did not end up in refuge. The film "Philosophers: A Lesson in Survival", in which the actors played their roles well, is full of such vivid images.
One worthy of special attention is a student named Jack, who was perfectly played by Freddy Strom. His character is a pleasant young man who can conquer the viewer from the first frames with a discouraging children's smile. Having stretched out his card with the profession, Jack feels safe, because, according to the script of the teacher, he has a degree in chemistry. And a chemist in conditions of post-apocalyptic survival is a very useful character. Further, it turns out that, in addition to useful skills, Jack is a carrier of impeccable genetics - he has an ideal heart, healthy lungs, an excellent working brain and joints. He can theoretically live more than 100 years and at the same time become an ideal sperm donor, who will leave behind a full-fledged offspring, ready to survive and continue the human race in difficult conditions with limited resources.
But over time, one detail becomes clear: Jack, as conceived by the
teacher of philosophy, turns out to be gay. Next comes another unexpected turn in the plot. It turns out that Mr. Simmit did not just make Jack the hero a young man of non-traditional orientation. It is such not only in a simulated thought experiment, but also in real life. Freddie Stroma was able to subtly show the position of a gay among straight people and the behavior of his hero after exposure. He accepts with a smile this discovery of others, confirms that his orientation in life is truly unconventional, and encourages his like not to hide this from others.
Home couple in love
The main characters, over whom the viewer is worried throughout the film, become a couple of lovers - Peter and James. Their roles were played by young actors Sophie Lowe and Reese Wakefield. Despite his youth, the wallpapers before filming in this film already had a certain acting experience. An interesting fact is that by coincidence, the guys used to be very serious about dancing.
Perfect blonde
Sophie at an early age signed a contract with one of the modeling agencies, but soon abandoned him and gave her preference to choreography. Reese also had the opportunity to work with one of Australia's largest and most famous ballet companies, The Australian Ballet.
The young blonde, being a college student, managed to star in several commercials. She played her first major role in 2009, taking part in the movie Beautiful Kate. For this work, she was even nominated in the category "Best Actress" in the AFI Award. She also had the opportunity to show herself during the filming of the thriller “Blame”, and the Blame picture with her participation was shown at many international film festivals.
One of the main male roles went to Reese Wakefield.
Reese, like his companion in the film Philosophy: A Lesson in Survival, began to act quite early.
Initially, he played cameo roles in two series. In 2008, he was lucky to play a major role in the Black Ball. This film earned him the nomination "Best Actor" and has been shown at many international film festivals.
Couple in love problems
Sophie and Reese met on the set of Philosophers and had to play a student couple in love, which they did brilliantly. The image of Petra is presented as the best student, a strong and strong-willed girl with high intellectual potential. James is a little behind in comparison with his girlfriend, but at the same time he loves her madly. Students study in the same class and, together with the other children, become participants in a thought experiment. It is noticeable that the teacher is biased towards the guy and is constantly trying to put him in a disadvantageous light. At the same time, Petra, who loves her young man, stubbornly does not notice provocations and does not succumb to them. According to the teacher’s idea, James becomes gay, and one day Petra finds him during a love affair with their mutual friend, Jack. But even this cannot make the student disappointed in her beloved, because she is constantly trying to remember that this is just an experiment.
Loss of reality in the movie
The film is quite specific, and it is not for nothing that many viewers classify it in their reviews on various forums as "amateur films." It is a little confusing that the plot lines between reality and fiction are very intertwined. Within a few minutes, all the characters are in the classroom and communicate as students and a teacher. Literally a second later, the action moves to the bunker, where all the same characters exist already in the conditions of the approaching apocalypse, discuss and share places in the shelter and try to survive.
Since Mr. Zimmer, the teacher himself, also takes part in a thought experiment, he is trying to take his place in the bunker by any means. His methods of achieving goals are not entirely humane, and many, especially Petra, begin to experience a clear negative attitude towards him. All these feelings and pronounced tension are transferred from a thought experiment to a real classroom audience.
What was the experiment for?
After the exciting experiment is over, all students leave the classroom. Only Petra remains with his teacher, and from their conversation it becomes obvious that there was a romance between the student and the teacher. Mr. Zimmer could not forgive his student for exchanging him for the most mediocre peer, and this whole experiment was not conceived to force students to think outside the box, but so that Petra, having seen her young man not in the most favorable situations, doubted your choice. The game of actors in this film helps to maintain the intrigue to the very end, and well-designed images make the picture really interesting to watch.