Review: From Other Worlds (2006)

FROM OTHER WORLDS
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)

CAPSULE: This light, amiable science fiction film
has a woman encounter two kinds of aliens: one
from the Ivory Coast and one really from "out
there." A Brooklyn housewife and mother is sort
of permanently zoned out until she is focused by
being abducted by aliens, having a romantic fling,
and going on a quick mission to save the Milky Way
Galaxy. This is all very lightweight and
low-budget stuff, but this pleasant comedy sort
of grows on the viewer. There is nothing
earth-shaking here, but the film is likeable in a
gentle way. Rating: +1 (-4 to +4) or 6/10

Cara Buono plays Joanne Schwartzbaum, who walks through life
dazed like a stunned duck. Her torpor is a reaction to the dull
routine of being a housewife and mother in Brooklyn. Her life
bores her. Hubby Brian does not understand her and probably
never really tried, but then she does not understand herself.
Joanne needs something extraordinary to happen to shake things
up. But help is on the way. Things change for Joanne when
aliens abduct her. They kidnap her for an evening, remove her
memory of the event, and leave her unconscious on her patio.
Suddenly the world starts looking different to Joanne. Small
things, like fish in a market, fascinate her. Perhaps even more
amazing to her is her discovery that there are actually support
groups for people who have been abducted by aliens and who are
trying to adjust again to life. She decides to attend.

Joanne is taking the strange experience better than some in her
encounter group are, perhaps because she had never adjusted to
life in the first place. Another abductee she meets is Abraham
(Isaach De Bankolé), an Ivory Coast immigrant. Abraham had an
almost identical alien encounter and was left with the same
strange mark to prove it. Together they find a small romance and
a big problem that could destroy the entire galaxy. That part of
the story plays out a little bit like "Dr Who Lite".

FROM OTHER WORLDS was written and directed by Barry Strugatz.
Mr. Strugatz is the veteran of several low-profile project as
well as co-writer (with Mark R. Burns) of two higher-profile
films, MARRIED TO THE MOB and SHE DEVIL, the latter starring
Roseanne Barr and Meryl Streep. He takes humorous jabs at "Star
Trek", CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, "The X-Files", and
1950s science fiction films. Strugatz creates some pleasantly
bizarre characters in a science fiction film that has no real
need for special effects. Perhaps a little more polishing was
needed on the script. Some of the subplots do not go very far.
A subplot with a possible government agent chasing the main
characters fills time with very little payoff.

The cast is mostly unknowns. Cara Buono is attractive, but not a
very good actress. She slips in and out of her Brooklyn accent.
Several people from the UFO encounter group are nicely bizarre-
looking and are a decent backup to the main characters. The film
is lightweight all the way, but is diverting. I give FROM OTHER
WORLDS a +1 on the -4 to +4 scale or 6/10.

Mark R. Leeper
mleeper.DeleteThis@optonline.net
Copyright 2007 Mark R. Leeper