Aporia Blu-ray Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Jared Moshe
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Judy Greer, Edi Gathegi, Payman Maadi, Faithe Herman
• Language ‏ : ‎ English (DTS 5.1)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Widescreen, Subtitled
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 43 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ September 12, 2023

         When the independent film Primer (2004) was made and released for $7,000, it proved that the budget of a blockbuster wasn’t necessary to make a time travel film. Since Primer, there have been numerous low budget and independent productions to take on the sci-fi premise. There have been so many indie time-travel movies released that the approach in Aporia feels somewhat unoriginal, despite containing a unique twist on the premise.

 

        Themes of loss lend themselves to narratives where characters desperately want to change the past, and this is the central focus of Aporia. Sophie (Judy Greer) is a single mother still grieving the death of her husband, Mal (Edi Gathegi), when she discovers his best friend and former physicist Jabir (Payman Maadi) is working on a device that could alter the past. Although it isn’t a time traveling machine, the machine Jabir has built does have the ability to send energy back in time. With the right information, this could allow Jabir to kill someone in the past, including the man responsible for the death of Mal.

 

        The premise of Aporia presents a moral dilemma, though the narrative is far more interested in the unexpected twists and turns of a time travel story than the ethical discussion of the decision to kill another person to save someone you love. It isn’t that the characters aren’t engaging, or the premise isn’t compelling, but the execution feels more than a little underwhelming.

 

Part of this could come from the fact that the sci-fi elements all occur off-screen. We never see what happens in the past and only experience the effects on the present timeline for Mal and Sophie. Without diving into the morality of the scenario, this just becomes a series of occurrences that only a few characters are aware of. This just doesn’t quite feel like enough to fill the run-time of a feature film. Although Aporia is watchable, it is also a bit underwhelming. But for those who are big fans of time travel narratives or Greer’s dramatic acting, Aporia is worth checking out. Otherwise, stick to Primer or any number of other time travel films available.

 

        The Blu-ray release of Aporia comes with a behind-the-scenes featurette and trailer for the film. This is in addition to the high-definition presentation of the film, though there is no spectacle or polished visuals to make this enhancement at all necessary.

 

Entertainment Value: 5.5/10

Quality of Filmmaking: 6.5/10

Historical Significance:  4/10

Special Features: 3.5/10