Universal Traveler

A poetic sci-fi head trip about the nature of time and space, Universal Traveler is at the same time utterly compelling and confusing, fascinating and frustrating. The story follows two scientists (Alicia Fuss and Abby Bader) trying to develop some technology having to do with nanobots. The test is stolen and the subject (Matt Walsh) gains the ability to transcend time and space. Naturally, it doesn't end up being a positive thing. And that's where I lost track of what was going on.

Maybe it's because I'm not big into sci-fi or maybe it's because Patrick Meaney's script is more concerned with ideas than connecting the dots between them, but I found the film difficult to follow. Narratively, the final few minutes seem detached from the rest of the film.

However, that's not as big of a problem as you'd think. Universal Traveler is primarily a visual film, the kind where the plot serves merely as a convenient excuse for nifty camera work. So, to say the plot doesn't make sense isn't all that important when considering the filmmaker's goals. Those visuals are quite good, even bordering on impressive. Cinematographer David Macnutt shows us a nice range of images, all handled adeptly. There are some camera placements that don't work all that well in the context of the larger scene, but you'll have that on a film like this. And be warned, it has the standard "student film acting" that we've all seen far too often.

Starring: Alicia Fuss, Matt Walsh, and Abby Bader
Cinematography by: David Macnutt
Original score by: Keith Pishnery
Written and directed by: Patrick Meaney
$350/12 min/Middletown, CT

Dream of Life

Much like Universal Traveler, Dream of Life is a visually-based film. The plot, such as it is, involves a failed robbery where the criminal (Lauren Katz) is inexplicably taken down by a machine gun (yes, a machine gun). In the moments before she dies, she imagines an alternate scenario. The film leaves a lot of questions unanswered, such as: why are they breaking into what looks to be a school building? Why is it being defended with a machine gun? And why is it snowing confetti at the end?