Habitat (1997)

Director:

Rene Daalder

Writer:

Rene Daalder (writer)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Fantasy

Tagline:

It'll Grow On You!

Plot:

In a future world where Earth's ozone layer has been completely destroyed, a brilliant but obsessed scientist...

Plot Keywords:

Shirtless Male Bondage | Switchblade | Environmental | Female Nudity | Male Nudity

Cast

Balthazar Getty	...	Andreas Symes
Tchéky Karyo	...	Hank Symes
Alice Krige	...	Clarissa Symes
Kenneth Welsh	...	Coach Marlowe
Laura Harris	...	Deborah Marlowe
Brad Austin	...	Blaine
Christopher Heyerdahl	...	Eric Thornton (as Chris Heyerdahl)
Kristen Holden-Ried	...	Daryl (as Kris Holdenried)
Daniel Pilon	...	Strickland
Lynne Adams	...	Tara Fisher
Susan Almgren	...	Ellen Bark
Amanda Blitz	...	Chris
Gouchy Boy	...	Soldier #2
Daniel Gautier	...	Soldier #3
Terri Hanauer	...	Myra Johnson

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality, language and some violence/gore.

Runtime:

Canada:120 min (including commercials) | USA:103 min (Cinémathèque Québécoise print)

Country:

Canada | Netherlands

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Germany:16 | Portugal:M/12 (video premiere) | USA:R

Company:

August Entertainment

Trivia:

This is the only theatrical movie filmed in Sony's early analog High Definition format. Sony donated the equipment and technical support in an attempt to popularize the format. The High Definition video was then transferred to film for release.

Quotes:

Hank Symes: I swim with the plants and frolic with the sperm.

Soundtrack:

Tradedy

Eccentric, Over the top "Preserve Nature!" message

Honestly: I enjoyed HABITAT !! I switched on TV while doing some other stuff, checking my emailbox etc., and found myself suddenly under HABITAT's spell.

(Maybe it was necessary to do something besides watching the movie: thus it was easier to sit through all this much too long and too often sparkle-flowing through the air, and the high school-talk scenes. - And, I must admit, I also missed the beginning, maybe 15 minutes...)

First I was bewitched by the mother figure. Large brown eyes, innocent like a child, at the same time there was an aura of knowing, of wisdom and peace about her... she forgave her enemies, she slept peacefully, while a posse of army/police/FBI/NASA/neighbours invaded her house - her beautiful Garden Eden - full of life, while the world outside was dry, sunburnt, hostile.

Yes, I DID LOVE, absolutely, the set design: the ever-changing/growing family's house, the contrast to the stupid neighbours (with their umbrellas), the torture schoolyard (yes, the high school has a large torture stone outside in the yard, where pupils can be chained! A nice prophetic idea!), the cars wrapped in blankets (they look like publicity for a Bed Shop), the desert (I think I know it from some holidays in the Southwest)...

And the mother stayed calm, in face of the enemy = the fascist/redneck physical education trainer (beating and insulting his pupils)(a man you love to hate!). He had entered her peaceful home, insulting and threatening her, but she stayed friendly and calm, softly teaching him facts and arguments (about the small parts of his skin which serve as food for tiny little beings), while slime and snot are running out of his nose, dripping down his chin in beautifully shimmering closeup... GROSS!

This was one of the most weird/disgusting/wonderful/shocking scenes in the history of cinema: the bad guy sweating, snot all over his face, coughing and cursing, while a beautiful calm lady is teaching him facts about his body functions (did I mention her curly hairdo?! I loved it!She's definitely the Good Witch!). I could hardly believe it!

Well, and the girl that Laura Harris played: the script must have said that she is a normal young high-school girl, without any magic powers or secrets about her. But the way she is presented in HABITAT: she looks so strange, so rare: the camera and lighting treat her that she appears like an alien from outer space. Her surface is so unreal - her image can serve as an explanation why men fall for women; why men cannot resist; why males HAVE TO follow whatever female is near them. Her appearance of unearthly beauty promises hidden secrets - then she kisses passionately without reason - paradise is near!

(Besides: when they finally had sex in the lake, it was disappointing, compared to the disturbing promises during her first close-ups; but the mood was set already, and could never be lost again.)

PS: don't forget the ecological/preservation ideas! They are right! Strange but daring in this weird B-movie full of over-the-top eccentricities.