Idaho Transfer (1973)

Thanks for the memories!

Pretty Good

It is a performances centric movie

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Nearly 25 years before "An Inconvenient Truth," we were cautioned about how humans destroy their world. And we did not listen. I hope to God that in 2040 (ironically the near time within this movie), we don't realize the damage we have done.Thematically, you have seen a reason for watching this film in the brief introduction. Another reason to watch this film is Peter Fonda. A few years after 1969's "Easy Rider," Fonda wanted to try his hand at directing and this film is a product. Not as classic as his 1971's "Hired Hand," this film does reflect Fonda's style and the minimalist approach he brings to directing. Any film student needs to see this work.Things you have to endure: bad acting, weak soundtrack, and no SFX's. Other than Keith Carradine (right in between his two Altman roles in "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" and "Nashville"), the other "talent" (I am using this word loosely) is amateur. The soundtrack is not even curious: the first have has a clearly dated feel to it while the second half is marked with a timeless sound that is just tedious and does not help the storyline or characters. For a sci-fi film, do not look for ANY SFX's. There are none! So as I noted above, film students and Americans, in general, need to check this movie out. But be forewarned: it does not offer anything that really engages you except as a dire warning for our future.

"Isa Braden" (Caroline Hildebrand) and her sister "Karen Braden" (Kelly Bohanon) are members of a small group of scientists who have recently invented a machine which allows people to go forward in time. Unfortunately, upon doing this they discover that humanity is facing a calamity of epic proportions in the near future. As a result they make plans to leap-frog this event by about 60 years in the hopes of survival. Now, rather than going over some of the details and risk spoiling the film for those who haven't seen it, I will just say that this picture seemed like one of those low-budget movies one might expect to see at the local drive-in back in the 70's. Not terribly bad--but in this specific case--not that good either. Although the acting was barely adequate this was probably due in large part to a weak script rather than through any fault of any particular actor. Likewise, there isn't much action to make up for the weak script which caused the film to seem lackluster and lethargic. But what made matters even worse was that sometimes the audience wasn't given adequate information to make sense of it all. The ending is a prime example. In any case, I rate the movie as slightly below average.

This is not a movie for folks who don't like to think. Though the reason for the future crisis is not given, nor the fate of party headed for the coast, the few clues dropped on what is going on is interesting.There are also hints of WWII treatment of the Jews with people in cattle cars and the retarded turned out into the wilderness to die or be used. Not to mention the blonde future girl - images of the perfect 'master race'.Also mentioned was that the lab was torn down and they didn't know why. Add the images of the military taking over and them witnessing Karen using the transfer machine, makes the watcher wonder if the device was dismantled and put somewhere else and the idea born to use people as energy instead of fossil fuels.Though the film has many plot holes, the over all concept is interesting with its many literary touches mixed with Science Fiction elements. It is also a haunting film that sticks in the mind.

I like films that don't tell you everything. Unfortunately, this film tells you nothing. Once you get passed the main premise, nothing is explained, apart from "Do humans survive in the end?" and "Is there going to be a gratuitous boob-shot?". SPOILER QUESTIONS: What's the deal with the girl's father, why are the government investigating, why doesn't the government use the machine, were there bodies in the train, what happened to the other people who transferred, why didn't they bury a huge store of food and supplies so they could use it in the future, why didn't they ever try going to another time..? It is also nice to have a film that contains elements that aren't essential to the plot, and this film has them in spades, but a little more explanation would have been nice.The film is pretty well directed, and some of the main actors are okay (others are bad). The ending is really bad. It is like they wanted something really profound, but ended up with something very cheesy and almost nonsensical.Overall, I'd say the film is pretty interesting. It is a quiet builder. I got it as part of a 50 DVD pack called Nightmare Worlds.