Rubikon – watchAUT Austrian Film Festival

Writers: Magdalena Lauritsch and Jessica Lind

Director: Magdalena Lauritsch

Director and co-writer Magdalena Lauritsch transports us to 2056 in her feature film debut. The familiar Sci-fi convention of white text appearing before a starry space background informs us the world’s environment has deteriorated beyond a critical state. Only the rich can afford to live in specially designed air domes. Big corporations equipped with their own armies have replaced governments. Attempts to seek refuge from the dying world out in space have failed. It’s a bleak, dystopian future made even more disconcerting due to its not-so distant time period. Lauritsch subtly alludes to current world affairs while homing in on the humanity at the heart of her story.

The action centres on Rubikon – Earth’s sole surviving space station. Aboard is scientist Dimitri Krylow (Mark Ivanir). He has invented an air filtration system which uses algae. It could combat the crisis and be the answer to saving what remains of the human race. Corporate solider Hannah (Julia Franz Richter) accompanied by her colleague Gavin (George Blagden) arrive to assess Krylow’s creation. Personalities clash with the three each having their own competing interests and ideas. The character dynamics are initially interesting with the confined setting evoking a tense atmosphere. The skeleton crew are finally brought together as a foreboding fog begins to envelope Earth, slowly suffocating the planet. Should they go back to save survivors or put themselves first and stay safe in space?

Aesthetically Rubikon pleases with some notable cinematography by Xiaosu Han and Andreas Thalhammer. On what one imagines to be a relatively slim budget, audiences are gifted some stellar visuals. These do not, however, compensate for what is ultimately a very simple, stretched out story. The premise at first sparks our interest yet fails to fully ignite our attention for the close to two hour run time. While pertinent issues such as the climate crisis and the sense of helplessness and isolation inflicted on us by the pandemic resonate with the plot, there is simply not enough narrative or compelling characters to invest in.

Regrettably Rubikon is not executed as effectively as it deserves to be, despite its commendable intentions. The cast endeavour to elevate the material they’ve been given but too often the acting seems stilted. Although the characters all have great potential, they occasionally feel more like blueprints for fully drawn individuals. This along with an exceedingly dialogue heavy script renders the picture sluggish and sedate. We are told rather than shown a great deal of information. Subsequently we find ourselves questioning how much we actually care about these characters and the journeys they are on. The stakes should be sky high with a plot about human survival. Much like Earth’s inhabitants in the film, Rubikon is sadly depleted of the energy it requires to fully flourish.

The watchAut Austrian Film Festival runs from 23 March until 26 March 2023.