As a mother, Nico (Susanne Wolff), and son, Jakob (Jeremias Meyer), travel back down toward earth, they come to understand that a virus is plaguing the people down below. They are now tasked with an impossible decision: return to everything they love and run the risk of becoming sick or remain stranded in space. They are Almost Home, but their journey is far from over.
This set design is impeccable, vibrant and full of life. Much of the film takes place inside of a spaceship, miles above earth’s surface–but a spaceship is simple in terms of colors. That’s not what’s so attractive, but rather it’s the cleanliness that stands out. They say that cleanliness is close to godliness–and this set is somewhere near perfection. Almost Home finds itself separated from a reality that most viewers would be able to appreciate–again, miles above the surface, and Director Nils Keller must find a way to create a bond between viewer and film–the set does just that. It creates something so wonderfully beautiful, so captivating, that viewers have no choice but to fall in love with it. It feels like what I imagine this real life space would, and it’s inviting and wonderfully full of life.
Continuing with the aesthetics, the special effects make the film feel like a million-dollar project. Every piece of the visuals shines incredibly bright, looking like something you may see in a Hollywood blockbuster–but for a fraction of the cost. I wouldn’t have thought that aesthetic prowess like this would have been possible in an indie film, but this team accomplishes something thrilling and beautiful. Almost Home envelopes viewers in its beauty, and it carries viewers through the story with grace.
The casting for Almost Home is perfect. Wolff and Meyer look related, adding to the believability of the film. I don’t think it would have been too hard to suspend disbelief if the casting hadn’t been perfect, and viewers could always chalk the aesthetic differences up to genetics or something else entirely–but casting director Lilith Kampffmeyer refuses to settle for anything less than perfection. That attention to detail, much like every other aspect of the film, is brilliant, moving, sound, and effective beyond what I believe viewers could have expected or hoped for.
The narrative is wonderful, but I think it entertains the way that it does as a result of everything I’ve mentioned before. The set, special effects, and casting (along with other things) make the story feel real–almost tangible. Almost Home is quite moving, and it’s full of heart and passion. Driven by the visuals, Almost Home works wonderfully in a number of ways. Almost Home is engaging from the opening moments, and it never relents, continuing to entertain until its final moments.
Directed by Nils Keller.
Written by Nils Keller & Max Richert.
Starring Susanne Wolff, Jeremias Meyer, Stephan Kampwirth, Patricia Meeden, & Malaya Stern Takeda.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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