Space is a magical place, isn’t it? As a storytelling device it is nonpareil — as soon as the writer has introduced the possibility of a leap to the stars, something goes imagination-wise. The restrictions of primitive Earthling reality no longer require apply.
It really is really odd, then, to witness a film like Extraterrestrial, a Spanish production that brings a flying saucer down to our planet and then has it just hover there, gathering space dust whilst the protagonists bicker over who’s sleeping with whom. The streets are deserted and the army is rounding up civilians someplace in the distance, but we’re left following the folks who would rather just stick with their terrestrial troubles, thank you quite significantly.
One assumes this is meant as satire, a Nero-fiddling-while-Rome-burns scenario, but since the production is so constrained in scale it really is difficult to be sure. Writer-director Nacho Vigalondo is like a man who, when presented with an all-you-can-eat buffet, only stacks his plate with grilled cheese. And it’s not like there’s something incorrect with grilled cheese, but if that’s all you wanted, why go to a buffet?
The threat of aliens does penetrate the consciousness of the film’s hip young urbanites adequate to serve as a minor catalyst. We join Julio (Julian Villagran) as he stirs after a hazily recollected night. He soon discovers that he was somehow fortunate sufficient to woo and bed the gorgeous Julia (Michelle Jenner), but this bragging correct becomes a liability: The two of them need to invent stacks of lies to throw off each Julia’s creepy neighbor Angel (Carlos Areces) and her very easily excitable boyfriend, Carlos (Raul Cimas).
That is where the UFO, which has descended and provoked a mass evacuation while our heroes had been sleeping, comes in handy. One rumor about otherworldly beings assuming human identities, and Julio and Julia effortlessly start off casting suspicion elsewhere.
Extraterrestrial is not a missed opportunity simply because it refuses to engage fully with its premise. There’s the question of artistic intent to consider, after all. Does Vigalondo not do exactly what he set out to do? He has made a narcissistic romance that only peripherally notices the sci-fi whirring overhead, and if you were rooting for the sci-fi, that’s your mistake.
No, the problem is that the romance itself isn’t engaging enough to justify such an outlandish approach. There is originality, certainly. But Vigalondo teased us with the moon and the sun.