Cargo

Cargo is a Swiss film, directed by Ivan Engler. Set in a dystopian future where Earth is uninhabitable, humans have relocated to giant space stations in orbit around Earth. The majority of humanity lives in squalor, while the Kuiper Corporation, which controls shipping and colonization, effectively controls everything. Humanity's only hope is Rhea, a planet like Earth, reserved for the few who have earned tickets to paradise.

Laura Portmann is a doctor, working on a sleeper cargo ship to earn her fare to Rhea, where she can finally reunite with her sister's family. The crew on the ship works in 4-month shifts, sleeping cryogenically in the meantime. Towards the end of her shift, Laura notices something strange about the cargo hold. She investigates, and things start going awry. Together with the rest of the crew and the supervising marshal, they try to figure out what's going on.

The mood and atmosphere is fantastic. The dystopian setting feels genuine, and life off Earth seems very bleak. The film starts off slowly, but the intensity steadily rises until we receive shocking revelations towards the climax. The supporting characters and crewpeople do seem a little flat, and don't receive much screen time. Several plot threads towards the end also feel a bit contrived, and the ending is slightly rushed. The story remains captivating, however, even though the movie succeeds a lot better when it focuses on the smaller aspects, and starts to fray when it delves into bigger ideas. Overall, Cargo is an entertaining, thoughtful sci-fi movie that is worth watching.

Rating: (7/10)