Science fiction is probably the trickiest genre to nail, be it literature or cinema. While it offers you endless possibilities, you also have to put in a lot of effort to properly set up a world and then dream up a story exciting enough to appeal to your audience. And it’s doubly difficult when it comes to short films. All you have is about ten or twenty minutes. You’ve got to introduce your audience to a world that’s not theirs or something that doesn’t happen in this world, and then tell a story that makes them think. This is an extremely difficult feat to achieve, and the reason I’m being this emphatic is director Nick Azzaro’s short film, Alpha 27, in under ten minutes, has managed to do everything that I’ve mentioned already.Â
The biggest challenge here is to draw the audience into its world. Alpha 27 leaves a lot of that to assumptions, but it gives us enough to build a strong one. For sure, this is far in the future, when intergalactic travel has become a very real thing. Humans have migrated to different colonies throughout the galaxy and established civilization. But a sudden political war has broken out, and earth is now at loggerheads with these other colonies. As a result, it has been decided that everyone who is not originally earth-born is going to be deported (I am using this word instead of sent because that’s how it feels like) to the colony from where they originally hail. What does that mean for Diego and Marcus, the very romantic, charming couple at the heart of this story? Their lives are being ruined as Diego has to go back to Alpha 27, where he was born. Nine years ago, he came to earth and found his home with Marcus. With this new order, he no longer has the right to his own life. Diego’s reaction and subsequent action to this is what makes this story, which is quite fantastic, from start to finish. And don’t you worry; I have just teased, and nothing is spoiled for you here, I promise.
It’s remarkable how this short successfully evokes your emotions, despite its characters barely getting to speak. A happy montage of Diego and Marcus is used for the opening twenty seconds, which is enough to make you root for the two. Then you are put into the middle of the thing. Imagine you’re being asked to leave your home, your family, your city, and your country—all because the country you live in (and call your own) is at war with the country you came from. You’ve got nothing to do with it. Yet, you have to make this sacrifice because the nation asks you to. Assuming it’s a democratic government chosen by you only, it’s like you’ve brought in someone who’s shoving their authorities into your throat. It’s most definitely a commentary about the system and how human lives get consumed by it. It doesn’t take much to feel for what Diego is going through. Just the thought of it is scary enough, isn’t it?
Everything in Alpha 27, from the music to the editing to the cinematography, has been done very carefully. Not a single second is wasted. Of course, none of it matters without the mention of actor Jake I. Garcia’s stunning performance as Diego. He’s so good that I decided to go and check IMDb to know what he’s done so far (mostly shorts, but after this, I’m going to check them all out). The one aspect of Alpha 27 that is particularly deserving of being lauded is its writing. It takes a lot of skill to fit a story with so much happening into a narrative that runs for only about ten minutes, and Nick Azzaro has just done that.
Now coming to the unavoidable question, is Alpha 27 original? The straightforward answer to that would be a strong no. The future that we see here has been seen in tons of science fiction before, except this one looks almost like the present. There’s this unmistakable Black Mirror vibe going on. In fact, if the same story was extended to an hour, it could very much become a part of the Charlie Brooker cult. The intergalactic theme is also a staple for the genre, and the mention of colonies is bound to make you think about shows like The Expanse, The Hundred, or the less celebrated Colony. Not to mention, putting the non-earthers into cryogenic sleep during their journey is a very space movie thing. All that said, it does work out wonderfully. I personally find this notion of everything having to be original quite foolish. Lack of originality is okay if the execution is done right, and Alpha 27 is a profound example of that. One might think the LGBTQ angle here is tacked on, but what I believe is that’s also a statement against oppression only. Sure, the story would have worked fine with a heterosexual couple as well, but having a same-sex couple is certainly more impactful. With the director himself showing interest in turning Alpha 27 into a feature film, there’s a strong possibility for us to witness this story on the big screen, in larger form. I consider that to be great news and believe we can actually get a sci-fi classic that is as great as Gattaca (1997) or Children of Men (2006) in the near future. I might be exaggerating a little bit; but Nick Azzaro and his team have earned that.
