Kiyoshi Kurosawa's "BEFORE WE VANISH"
Movie review by Dennis D. McDonald
Three aliens come to Earth to prepare the way for an invasion and take-over of earth. They melt into the general population and take over three humans. Then they go about copying different emotions and “conceptions” from the people they meet. They also link up with humans who act as guides.
While two of the aliens prepare a communicator to signal to their masters that the invasion can begin, they also look for the third alien who is now linked to his host’s wife. The three need to act together to signal that the Earth is ready for invasion — which will wipe out all humans.
The third, whose host’s wife is now his “guide,” is acting strangely. At one point his wife hospitalizes him but he gets sent home from the hospital with the possible diagnosis of “early onset Alzheimer’s.”
We then spend the bulk to the movie as the three move about and gather the thoughts, emotions, and ideas from people they meet. Some encounters leave the victim changed. Others end up in violence. The two finally link up with the third whose wife begs him to leave town before the inevitable invasion can take place.
It’s an odd film, slow in parts, but it always pays attention to the weird personalities involved as the aliens gather more information about human behavior and thinking. Society around them seems to be falling apart with government authorities increasingly worried about this “infection” that seems to be spreading. The “guides” who are with the aliens even become ambivalent about the invasion — they know the earth will never be the same but at the same time they are driven by a compulsion to stay with the aliens and learn more.
Taking this film seriously requires a lot of tolerance for both ambiguity as well as some inconsistencies and plot holes. But it’s unique enough to be interesting. Be prepared to see something unusual.
Review copyright (c) 2021 by Dennis D. McDonald
