Viking (2022)

October 24, 2023 8:12 PM

A sly, deadpan Canadian comedy about a team of non-astronauts sent into isolation in a desert on Earth because their personalities match the members of an actual ongoing Mars mission that's having interpersonal conflicts. The earthbound team is tasked with mirroring the real astronauts' behavior and coming up with solutions to the Martian team's psychological problems. 100% on RT with 9 reviews, free on Tubi and other options, mostly in French with English subtitles.
posted by mediareport (2 comments total)

This is one of those sci-fi-adjacent flicks, with almost all of the action set on earth and just a few minor technological tweaks to let you know you're not quite in our world. It's also at times darkly hilarious, in a quiet, slow-paced way. The strange writing and odd emotional twists kept me intrigued and sometimes laughing out loud for its 100 minutes, kind of like a Todd Solondz movie, but much less cruel.

It's also gorgeously shot, with some deliberately clunky set design that sometimes cracked me up, and is very well-acted. It had me wondering where it was going towards the end but then lands in a place that's....well, not exactly satisfying but...maybe....appropriate?

Anyway, if you're looking for a funny outer space movie that will have you thinking "you know, maybe humans might want to reconsider this going into outer space thing," Viking might be just the film for you.
posted by mediareport at 8:25 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]

ohhh wow, this is up my alley. Thanks mediareport!
posted by elkevelvet at 8:01 AM on October 25, 2023 [1 favorite]