Quest (1984)

The Age of Commercialism

I'll tell you why so serious

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

This movie has exactly one interesting idea, which is repeated in every second line of dialog just to make sure that nobody will miss it: a group of humans have lifespans of only 8 days.Beyond that, it's utter rubbish. The viewer is supposed to shut off his brain and watch the main character fight some random monsters, run through some buildings that are collapsing for no apparent reason, and so on. We don't know why any of this is happening, but we're supposed to be happy when the main character finally pushes a button so that humans can live "normal" lifespans again.There's zero backstory. The story line is the most inane imaginable (it seriously amounts to pushing a button to magically fix everything). The acting is bad. The dialogue is bad. The costumes are bad. The visuals are the least bad thing about it, but they're certainly nothing special.I can't believe that anyone likes this. If you like intelligent sci- fi, stay far away.

A child is born, as mist shrouds a cliff dwelling enclave...a tribe of sad but noble people pray that this might be the one, the deliverer... "We all are born, and live, and die in eight days"...maybe your days are ten or twelve years long is all. Nonetheless just blow a few of them off, turn away from the light and see where it gets you...shorter of breath and one day closer to death. The journey here depicted, starting in solemn tones of drab and earth, funneling through Escher and Magritte-inspired mazes of harrowing scale and intensity, is the journey I am on right now, and yes, my wandering movie loving friend it is your little trip as well. You thought you were just doing a tad of light surfing and then the biggest wave raced you toward an early grave. All graves are early. Life is damn short. We only live eight days, remember? Twenty thousand? Hah! That shadow creeping on the wall there, ace, that ticking sound, that night you drank a wee dram too much and the pounding, the clock, the wheel, the big flippin' ball comin' down the chute...well, I digress. Or do I? 8. Thats it. Then its over. Turn it on its side, its a google, it goes on forever! Laugh! Cry. Don't matter, mortal kid. Take it or leave it, number's up its up, all over but the shoutin'...Sinking in sand, fight yer demon self, earthquake, tidal wave, far away across the field the tolling of the iron bell...how bored are you? Not much I trust. See QUEST. Ray knew and tried to tell you.Wished an' hoped he was yer Ray of Light. Which day will be the finest? Maybe today is the best yer gonna see. Have heart, and Carpe Diem, little trout. Catch you on the other side of the gate. I'd love to be involved in making such a lovely film as this one. Only a few days left...I definitely have to start on it this week. One of my favorite films of all TIME.Robin

Quest is imaginative and surreal. The fantastic premise of the film is laid out efficiently, effectively, and stylishly. This is an outlandishly fantastic film thoughtfully made with consistent atmosphere of awe such that few fantastic feature films can boast. This is a must-see movie for lovers of the beautiful unreal.

Fascinating short film adapted from a Ray Bradbury story about a world where humans live out their lifespans in eight days, and the attempts to change this. A warrior is literally trained from infancy to reach a specific destination before he grows old and dies eight days later. The ending gets a tad bogged down in pseudo-philosophical mush but, as expected from Saul Bass, the visuals are absolutely stunning.