Movie : The Offline
Director : Eduardo Cocciardo
The story gyrates around the vivid and colourful landscapes of Italy during the pandemic. The world submerged in the miasma of an unknown and deadly virus. We are told a tale about Matteo Rovere. A man with various foibles. He suffers from a paranoia. A trepidation of illness redundantly occupies his psyche. He lives with his mother in a passable apartment. He is troubled by the genuine nature of monotonicity. A sense of tedium has crippled Matt Rovere. Inaction, boredom and repetition has induced a sense of nothingness around him. However an immediate sense of dread affected him the most. As if the grim reaper awaited his arrival the soonest. His intention was to run away as far as possible from death. Disinfectants were his weapon that he believed would shield him. His compulsive urge to protect himself from the virus turns the movie into a complex psychological thriller. He pays close attention to every object around him. If he must use them then they must be immune to the pangs of the virus.
He is connected to an eclectic mixture of people through his computer. The computer acts as the sole object that adds colour to his life. The order is maintained through a handful of interactions. However the order soon turns to chaos when his computer suddenly stops working. A tumultuous course of events unfold as a technician arrives to repair the computer.
The story assumes the form of an allegory. An antithesis to the paranoia that had taken over the world during the lockdown. Trepidations that ran in all directions, paralysing people causing a plethora of problems (both physical and mental). It turned people delusional making some of them hallucinate occasionally.
The title perhaps suggests a domain of bliss that has become of secondary significance post the pandemic.
The director laments the loss of contact Which shoves a certain sense of reality away from human beings.
The movie impeccably relates the virus to a sense of perpetual paranoia. The same Paranoia felt when a person is chased by an unknown shadow like figure without respite. It delves deep into the darker side of the human psyche. The protagonist appears entrapped internally as well. He is in the most dangerous yet vulnerable state that one can be in. The character of Matteo Rovere is dexterously written. He is too timid to be called a hero and too fragile to be called a villain. He represents the modern man in all his labyrinthine complexities.
The performances deserve some applause. Pulling off a character like Matteo Rovere is not a cake walk by any means.
The attempt of the director and the screenwriter deserves a certain amount of praise to construct a thrilling narrative around something so pertinent and urgent.
The technical side of the film act as the icing on an already impressive looking cake. The genuine effort is visible in every frame of the movie. One must admit that collectively the team has done an impeccable job.
