KVIFF 2023: Czech Sci-Fi Film ‘Restore Point’ Falls Short of Greatness

KVIFF 2023: Czech Sci-Fi Film ‘Restore Point’ Falls Short of Greatness

by Alex Billington
July 6, 2023

Our technology-saturated future does not look like it’s going to be a good place. Yet another dystopian vision of the world that awaits us is found within the science fiction film Restore Point, originally known as Bod Obnovy in Czech. The ambitious Czech project just premiered at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival in Czechia, and it’s also featured at this summer’s Neuchâtel Fantastic Film Festival in Switzerland and the Bucheon Fantastic Film Festival in Korea. The Czech filmmaker Robert Hloz is making his first feature and many of the talent involved on the filmmaking side are also all making their first feature, which is exciting because it means they’re passionate and driven and worked very hard to create something iconic and major. While the film certainly looks damn good throughout, unfortunately the story doesn’t amount to much in the end. It’s a confusing jumble of intriguing ideas, with a couple of brilliant concepts that are never properly explored or integrated into the screenplay as the story plays out over 111 minutes. I really wish I liked this film more.

What if you took the video game concept of “save points” and turned that idea into something that humans in the real world could actually use if they’re killed. Don’t overthink it – how a dead person is “restored” isn’t a consideration in this. What matters in Restore Point is making sure you “backup” and “save” yourself every day, or at least every 48 hours, because that’s the cutoff point. The film takes place in the year 2041, and anyone who has an unnatural death has the right to be brought back to life. The filmmakers explain how this concept divides this society: “There are people who love using the restore points and people who think it makes your life worthless… There were so many moral questions and conflicts, and society pushes you to take sides.” However, it’s not only the morals that are intriguing, it’s how this tech could reshape society. There’s a few gaping plot holes in Restore Point which make it extra confusing, but there’s also plenty left on the table. The noir story follows a detective, Agent Em played by Andrea Mohylová, trying to figure out why someone is killing people after holding them for 48 hours. Is it an activist? Is something else going on?

This ambitious film is a grand mashup of Blade Runner (of course), Isaac Asimov’s books, Minority Report, Frankenstein (obviously – bringing people back from the dead), and Neal Stephenson’s book Snow Crash, all stuffed into a Czech sci-fi thriller. Not a bad mix. It leans way too heavily on all the world building (which is worthwhile) without enough in the storytelling to make the payoff worth it. So many distinct, intriguing ideas about this future and its moral quandaries are brought up, but never fully explored. The potential feels much greater than the actual experience we get. It’s a good film, though not great overall, however still quite interesting. There is one particular concept involving “gifts” that one of the lead programmers brings up, which is one of the most fascinating aspects of this futuristic restore point tech. But it’s never really used in a compelling way in the script, when it could’ve been integrated into the noir story and the mystery of what’s going on and how this detective figures out everything happening. The script needed to be developed more, as there’s so much at play and so much ambition but it still falls short of being truly innovative or impactful.

This may be Czech director Robert Hloz’s first feature after a few other shorts, but it’s seriously technically impressive filmmaking, and I honestly must praise how strong all the visuals are. It always feels a bit like a backhanded compliment to say this, though it’s true – I’m excited to see what else this director does and what he makes next. He clearly knows how to craft a lived-in sci-fi world and make it all feel like we’re just a few years away from being there. It borrows heavily from Blade Runner in the world building aspects, like most sci-fi films do, though still feels distinct and fresh. I just wish the writing was better. There’s so many smart ideas but it doesn’t all come together the way it should in the end. Still a worthwhile made-outside-of-Hollywood sci-fi movie to discover and enjoy, at least once. There’s one “underground” scene showing the potential of how people will push this restore point tech to its limits (think Russian roulette, etc) and as cool as it was to see this, the storytelling should’ve pushed these limits, too. Sci-fi stories can always dig deeper.

Alex’s KVIFF 2023 Rating: 7 out of 10
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