Aniara

With Aniara the writing and directing team of Pella Kagerman and Hugo Lilja deliver an increasingly depressing sci-fi odyssey of the show breakdown of human civilization aboard a transport ship that becomes lost on its way from Earth to Mars. The ship itself is a combination of a cruise ship and giant mall where the crew's main purpose, even before the mechanical issue that forces it further and further from their destination, seems mainly to distract the passengers from what is actually happening to them.

Inspired by the poem of the same name, the bleak tale centers mostly on a holodeck operator (Emelie Jonsson) and the events she witnesses when the three-week journey extends indefinitely.

The film offers no real surprises, and does begin to drag in its final act as it becomes obvious, even to the most hopeful, that there is no hope of ever leaving the Aniara. Available on both Blu-ray and DVD, the movie includes featurettes on the visual effects, production, and sound design of the film as well the film's trailer.

[Magnet, $12.99]