Neuchâtel 2024 Review: ETERNAL Takes Its Sweet Time Getting... Somewhere

At the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival back in 2021, several films directly tackled the subject of environmental issues (including the International Critics' Jury Winner that year). This year, the selection skewed more towards emotions of grief, loss, failed relationships. One film at the festival this year could effortlessly have been in both selections though: Ulaa Salim's science fiction drama For Evigt a.k.a. Eternal.

At the beginning of Eternal, an earthquake in Iceland opens a huge fissure in the ocean's floor, raising the water temperature, destabilizing the tectonic plates, altering the electromagnetic field surrounding Earth and allowing lethal space radiation to reach the surface. In short: the end of the world is suddenly visible, and mere decades away. Part of the planet's population starts partying like it's 1999, other people try to find a solution. Elias (played by Viktor Hjelmsø), a brilliant Danish student, is obsessed with news surrounding the fissure, writing papers about its effects and possible ways to avoid them. He meets Anita, a beautiful young singer, and the two fall in love, even prepare to get married. But when Anita gets pregnant, Elias has just been allowed a scholarship in MIT and he wants nothing to distract him from his mission to save the planet. The couple decide to have an abortion, break off the relationship, and Elias moves to the United States.

Many years later, Elias (now played by Simon Sears) is an experienced captain on a scientific submarine, helming Mankind's attempt to plug the fissure. But whenever the hole in the ocean's floor is approached, weird phenomena start taking place. One of them is that Elias inexplicably gets glimpses of the alternate life he would have led if he had stayed with Anita and raised a family with her. Confronted with the sacrifices he has made, the fissure seems to allow him a choice: sacrifice even more... or not.

Immediately after having seen the film, me and the other jury members quipped: "This is what happens when you want to make Interstellar but wind up with Mission to Mars instead." Director Ulaa Salim's previous film was the searing Sons of Denmark, which showed the dangers of the rise in right-wing extremism (you can read Martin Kudlac's review here). That film could hardly be called subtle, and neither can Eternal. But while the "hit it with a hammer, repeatedly" approach worked as a very plausible political warning, here it seems conjured out of thin air, unbalanced. Yes, we get what Elias left behind. And still we get to see it over and over again. While the film is over-long (the second joke was: "why do the end credits start with the running time?"), it is well-made, looks expensive, is decently acted and has some great designs. But it is so serious, so 'profound', while at the same time the science itself is pretty goofy. "Global warming has caused the fissure" we hear. Wait, what?! And we never get why Elias is getting all these revelations on the ocean's floor. Is there a dimensional gate in there? Aliens? Squids? Guillermo Del Toro? Also, I deduct points for ripping off several scenes from The Abyss. If that is a spoiler, well, don't put it on all the marketing materials then.

BUT...
What I just wrote is MY opinion, not everyone's. The film did in fact win the Youth Award at this year's Neuchâtel festival. The youth jury did not find it trite, or boring, or overly sentimental. They appreciated seeing a film about environmental issues, a film which showed an urgency to act even if that brings heartbreaking sacrifices with it. And I've seen that appreciation at other festivals as well. So... as always, your enjoyment may depend on what kind of audience you are. It wasn't for me (and I am quite forgiving), but I cannot rule out that it might be for you.