Landscape with Invisible Hand (2023)
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A teenage artist struggles to maintain his integrity in a future where aliens have established a dominant, exploitative economic order.
The story
By the year 2036, an alien race called the Vuvv has taken over Earth, creating a new social order that has led to widespread unemployment and homelessness. Teenager Adam Campbell, an aspiring artist, lives with his mother and sister as a Vuvv city ship parks above their home. At school, the Vuvv use nodes to broadcast propaganda and replace human teachers with pre-recorded lessons. Adam meets a classmate named Chloe, and the two begin to navigate their lives in this new reality. As the class system undergoes a rapid upset, Adam and Chloe must find ways to adapt to the alien-dominated economy.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 2036, the Vuvv aliens rule Earth, using nodes to broadcast propaganda and replace human jobs. Adam Campbell, a teen artist, meets Chloe Marsh. To survive financially, they begin broadcasting their relationship to the Vuvv, who view human romance as entertainment. This earns them money but causes emotional strain. When the Vuvv discover their emotions are no longer genuine, they sue the couple, threatening to put their families in debt for six generations. Adam's mother, Beth, strikes a deal to house a Vuvv offspring called 'Father' in exchange for income. However, 'Father' becomes overbearing and disrespectful. Adam's father briefly reappears, sees Beth with 'Father', and leaves. Adam continues to paint, eventually creating a mural on a school wall as a monument to human resilience. The Vuvv offer to hire Adam as a galactic artist, but after seeing they have altered his mural with 'minor' adjustments and phony quotes, he declines the contract. Adam and Chloe reunite to begin painting a new mural titled 'Landscape with Invisible Hand'.
- First release year
- 2023
- Runtime (minutes)
- 105
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Cory Finley
- Writers
- Cory Finley · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Asante Blackk · Adam Campbell; Kylie Rogers · Chloe Marsh; Tiffany Haddish · Beth; Clifton Collins Jr.; Michael Gandolfini; Josh Hamilton; Brooklynn MacKinzie
- Genres
- science fiction; romantic comedy-drama; teen
- Themes
- resilience; economic inequality; authenticity; humanity vs. technology
- Tone and mood
- science fiction; dramatic; satirical
- Setting
- Earth in the year 2036
- Premise and plot tags
- alien invasion; future economy; artistic expression; social commentary
- Source material / true-story basis
- 2017 novel by M. T. Anderson
- Content notes
- live action; animation
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 53 · scale: 100 · review count: 23; Metacritic · score: 53 · scale: 100 · review count: 23
- Production trivia
- The film was based on a novel by M. T. Anderson.; Principal photography took place in Atlanta.; The film was released on Prime Video in early 2024.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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