Rahul Desai
Magic Realism Rooted in its Story
As its title suggests, Cargo director Arati Kadav’s new short film is about an astronaut and…a parrot. The film-maker’s passion for science fiction and magic realism is rooted in its story.
A Moving Nod to Iconic Space Films
The narrative itself – where an astronaut is reduced to a parent pining for a child – is a moving nod to both Interstellar (2014) and First Man (2018). The mission (which we hear of in sputtering radio snippets) involves building a colony on Europa, the smallest of Jupiter’s four moons and the setting of the 2013 sci-fi indie, Europa Report.
Kadav consistently crafts the sort of life-affirming tales
Not for the first time, Kadav’s low-fi design infuses heart into the moment, while counting on our perception of this movie genre to join the (lens-flare) dots. The DIY vibe is just the right mix of playful and poignant; at its core, it’s about a man who loves his little girl to the moon and back.
The ‘Sigh’ in Sci-fi
Again, it made me feel like an emotionally intelligent adult and a wide-eyed child at once. It’s not an easy thing to do as a filmmaker – to amplify the ‘sigh’ in sci-fi without compromising on the depth of its tropes.