2073 is a 2024 British science fictiondocudrama film directed by Asif Kapadia. Set in a dystopian future, the film is inspired by Chris Marker's 1962 featurette La Jetée. It follows a time traveller who risks his life to change the course of history and save the future of humanity.[4]
In September 2022, it was reported that Neon, Double Agent, ITV International and Film4 will co-finance and act as executive producer of the film with Kapadia and George Chignell producing it. Whereas Davis Guggenheim, Nicole Stott, and Jonathan Silberberg acting as executive producers for Concordia Studio alongside Riz Ahmed's Left Handed Films.[8][9]
The film competed in the 57th Sitges Film Festival in the 'Oficial Fantàstic Competició' section. It was screened on 11 October 2024.[13][14] The film was released in the United Kingdom by Neon on 27 December 2024.[1]
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 56% of 36 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.8/10.[15]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 52 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[16]
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian rated the film with 3 stars out of 5 and wrote, "2073 is certainly a relevant shout of rage against the authoritarian forces despoiling our democracy and our environment—and the bland and complaisant naivety that’s letting it happen."[17]
Lee Marshall reviewing for Screen Daily giving positive review wrote, "Does the alternation between documentary inserts and sci-fi superstructure work? Not always... But Kapadia and his co-scribe Tony Grisoni seem to understand that the pummelled audience can take only so much cinematic doomscrolling."[18]
Matthew Carey for Deadline Hollywood giving positive review wrote, "There’s a disturbing plausibility to director Asif Kapadia’s docudrama 2073". He concluded the review with quote from film, "This is not fiction. This is not documentary. This is a warning."[19]
Robbie Collin for The Daily Telegraph rated the film with 2 stars out of 5 and wrote, "The conceit of a film as a warning from the future is a promising one, but 2073 feels more like political signalling for the present."[20]
Roberto Oggiano reviewing at 2024 BFI London Film Festival for Cineuropa wrote, "Asif Kapadia’s new movie is a documentary with apocalyptic undertones which takes a confused approach to blending the past, the present and the future, reality and fiction."[21]
Davide Abbatescianni writing for New Scientist underscored how the scope of Kapadia's film is "too broad" and oversimplifies complex issues. He added: "While individual facts cited are often correct, the way they are linked can loosely resemble works where shedding light on global issues becomes a platform for diving into conspiracy theories."[22]
Guardian journalist Carole Cadwalladr, who appears in the film, covers its context. She describes how the experiences of director Kapadia growing up in Hackney, being placed on a United States watchlist, and observing reporters opposing repressive regimes today have likely influenced the film.[23]
Accolades
The film was selected in Competition at the 57th Sitges Film Festival, thus it was nominated to compete for Best Feature Film award.
