Sci-fi Hot Spot crash-lands in a strange future with no instructions
There's plenty of expressionist style and little narrative sense in Hot Spot, the shambolic exercise from The Lure's Agnieszka Smoczyńska.
Agnieszka Smoczyńska's film Hot Spot offers a visually striking but narrative disjointed sci-fi experience reminiscent of dystopian classics like Mad Max, Bacurau, and Blade Runner 2049. The story unfolds in a strange future devoid of instructions, where a screensaver-like AI entity, The Head, connects everyone in the region – except those who refuse to plug in, such as refugees from elsewhere.
Detective Djonny, played by Andrzej Konopka, is sent to a remote refugee camp to investigate a murder while dealing with a mysterious transformation that could be turning him into a tiger.
Despite Smoczyńska's intention to critique the violence unleashed by AI, the film's message gets lost amidst its showy aesthetics and questionable creative choices. The AI system is deeply flawed, with humans consuming a jellybean daily to prevent their heads from exploding. Despite this, the AI allows for telepathic communication and instant picture sharing, which appears clunky on screen.
The film's worldbuilding is uneven, with elements so absurd they verge on parody. For instance, The Head facilitates telepathic bonding between Rana (Noomi Rapace) and Ayka (Reika Kirishima), allowing Ayka to don Rana's appearance to confuse Djonny. The narrative jumps are abrupt, making the plot harder to follow; Djonny's son, Zen, inexplicably struggles to control his movements and finds himself on his school's roof, while fellow detective Maria sports unusual elven ears and is dressed unlike any other character.
Djonny, clad in outfits reminiscent of a post-apocalyptic thrift store, alternates between a Tron-like body suit and a kilt with knee-high fishnet tights. Ayka and Rana wear questionable burlap-like robes covering their faces. While the film aims to be a visceral rebellion against AI, its message gets muddled, and the audience is left more confused than enlightened.
Smoczyńska's cinematography experiments with red-blue lighting and trippy imagery, reminiscent of Nicolas Winding Refn's Her Private Hell. However, the film's focus on colorful visuals and violent imagery often overshadows its attempt at a coherent story. Ultimately, Hot Spot is a visually captivating but frustratingly disjointed sci-fi film that is entertaining to look at but difficult to follow.
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