A beautiful movie that feels specially made for these turbulent and chaotic times, where no one knows where a war will start or when it will stop, and no one can predict the march of death in the form of missiles and fighter planes.

Now, a little about the movie. It moves gently across three timelines separated from each other by eons: a Neanderthal family’s fight for survival, a story of love and loss set in the 21st century, and humanity’s struggle for survival somewhere around 2400.

All three stories are beautifully interwoven and the shift from one timeline to another never feels like a jarring jump, largely because a common thread runs through all of them: love, sacrifice, loss, and survival.

This is a director’s movie, and Andrew Stanton has created something magical from an already great script. Dialogue stays at arm’s length from superfluous words. There is no grandstanding or grandiosity, just ordinary people behaving normally under extraordinary conditions. All the actors have understood their characters perfectly and played them with conviction.

In the opening minutes, as you try to find your bearings, the cinematography pulls you in, lapping waves, mountains, and lakes that hold your gaze. Then the story shifts to the present timeline and leaps forward. And so it goes. There is absolutely no manufactured drama and zero artificial suspense, and the script does not need any. It speaks of something far more important and universal: love, sacrifice, loss, and the survival of humanity.

It is not a movie for everyone, especially not for those who thrive on action films and series. But give it a try. You might just be surprised.

© Shashikant Dudhgaonkar