The Future (2013)

Wow! Such a good movie.

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Somnolent tale of a low voltage heist plot that offers potential for excitement in an unusual twist but sputters to a limp conclusion still born. Rutger Hauer as Maciste. an aged hulk of a washed up body builder/B movie actor who now lives alone in a suitably rundown mansion. Enter Bianca and Tomas, lately orphaned by their parents traffic death, sleepwalking through life until Tomas hooks up with a couple of body builders who move in with the siblings and amazingly turn out to be excellent cooks and housekeepers in contrast to Tomas and his sister. The plot then unfolds (finally) as the guests have a plan to rob Maciste of his money stash with Bianca the interloper who is to locate the goods. But Bianca turns out to have a soft spot in her heart for the old geezer and bails on the deal. The would be thieves then meekly move out without a fuss. The anticipated sexuality never really jells as Maciste is blind and gets his kicks by rubbing down Bianca with oil--all over. Bianca does make herself available to one of the house guests in a strictly physical affair and in a brief moment sizes up her handsome brother as he lies asleep in his jockey shorts One interesting angle are the film clips of a younger Maciste playing the role of Hercules or Samson which Bianca watches and then dreams about as the film attempts to make some kind of psychological connection. What sinks the film is utter detachment all display and even the usual historical monuments of Rome are not enough to make the film worthwhile.

I am an admirer of Rutger Hauer. So when I had a chance to see Il Futuro, I took it. Sadly, there is absolutely nothing here that would make me happy to have seen it. Hauer was made to look particularly bad since that was the role. But even worse was the terrible empty lines he was forced to say - like how to make a sandwich....yuuck. The lead actress Manuela Martelli was only OK as an actress, but, again perhaps the role itself was designed to be emotionless, flat and zombie like. The only even thinly possible thing to say that wasn't awful about the film was the actress' nude body was firm and fit. And know this, there was nothing even remotely erotic about it since the scenes were choreographed to be like Walking Dead episodes. I hate to say it but do Rutger Hauer a favor and don't put this vision of his performance in your head.

I rented this movie because I loved Alicia Scherson's 2005 movie titled Play, which was delightful. This movie was not. It was relentlessly depressing until the very last few seconds, but by that time I had long since ceased to care what happened to any of the obnoxious characters.Lesbians and straight men might enjoy watching a teenage Italian girl walk around totally naked and covered in some kind of oil for 90 minutes, but only sleazy fat old men could enjoy watching her have paid sex repeatedly with a sleazy fat old man. The ONLY few seconds of this horrible movie that were tolerable AT ALL were some views of Rome not normally shown in movies.The respect I had for Scherson after seeing Play has been demolished. I've re-watched Play several times and loved it more each time, but I'd rather have my arm amputated than watch this movie again.

The film opens with the death of two teenager's parents, leaving them to live by themselves. Money is tight for Bianca and Tomas but the arrival of two shady guys from the gym where the latter works changes everything. They put forward a scheme to rob a reclusive actor who was famous in the 60's for playing the character Maciste in peplum movies. Bianca is sent in to seduce him but things don't play out as planned.Il Futuro is a strange film that isn't really story driven at all. The crime angle that underpins the narrative is ultimately not especially important, more a device of linking Bianca to Maciste. What made the film most enjoyable for me was Manuela Martelli who was not only good in the central role but also added a strong sensual dimension to proceedings. She spends a considerable amount of time naked and covered in oil which does ensure that this is a drama that has a definite erotic angle. Rutger Hauer is additionally an interesting presence, even if his character essentially remains somewhat enigmatic.So what does it all mean? Not a huge amount I would venture. The title seems to refer to the fact that the central character's present is poor and the future is all. Bianca uses sex as a means of moving forward but it doesn't work and things end with her and her brother having learnt a few lessons from their experience. I suppose it's a coming-of-age film in some ways. But mainly it works best as a slightly left-field erotic drama; more a slice of life rather than a story.