(released 1973)

”Soylent Green” is an American science fiction film directed by Richard Fleischer and stars Charlton Heston, Brock Peters, Leigh Taylor-Young, Lincoln Kilpatrick and the great Edward G. Robinson. The film is based on a sci-fi novel called ”Make Room! Make Room!” by Harry Harrison which won both Nebula and Saturn awards and won the Avoriaz fantastic film festival´s grand prize . It is the story of a dystopian society in collapse in the year 2022. This is a cautionary tale of a society that suffers the consequences of severe environmental exploitation and destruction beyond any possibility of repair.

The year is 2022 and the place is a run down and over-crowded New York City where the main character Robert Thorn (played by Charlton Heston) is a detective investigating the murder of a member of the wealthy class. He has Solomon called ”Sol” (played by the great Edward G. Robinson) to help him with research about his cases. Sol´s nostalgia is a glimspe to a past where some societies enjoyed abundance and the expectation of a happiness for future generations. However, in this post apocalyptic future the food, supply due to extreme environmental destruction, is collapsing and humanity is in a downward spiral toward collapse. As detective Thorn and Sol investigate the murder they realize how far along the collapse really is.

This is a cautionary tale of what happens to a humanity that refuses sustainable technologies and trades their future for profit at the cost of the environment. Whether you blame it on greed or war seems almost irrelevant because once the viewer learns the state of humanity´s condition they are left without the possibility of asking the question ”What is to be done now?” Things are past that point.

Even though this is a movie from the 1970s it still is a good watch. You have to remember that movies, unlike books, age very quickly and just like books the good ones stand the test of time. ”Soylent Green” is well done with the technologies of the time and the story and characters are very good. That is why I highly recommend it. It´s a must see and own folks.

 I2Q
(Commentary by www.ink2quill.com )

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