Taking us into a not-so-distant future where unnatural deaths can be cancelled out by innovative back-up hardware, ambitious sci-fi thriller Restore Point comes from Czech director Robert Hloz. The action follows detective Em Trochinowska (Andrea Mohylová) as she investigates the suspicious deaths of the David Kurlstat (Matej Hádek), who happens to be the developer of this restorative science, and his wife. Meanwhile, a mysterious organisation known as the River of Life are rebelling against the new technology by committing heinous acts of terrorism to bring about natural order.
The events take place within 2041 vision of Prague, so some inventive near-fi world building is implemented to establish the dystopian landscape with cool design flourishes. Hloz uses an icy colour palette of chilly greys and blues to set a cyberpunk-infused brutalist tone, riffing on the futuristic noir genre and with impeccable production design that wouldn’t look or feel out of place from a Hollywood studio. Building upon the hi-concept premise with a script by the director and his writing collaborators Tomislav Čečka and Zdeněk Jecelín, the police procedural narrative moves into morally murky territory, an allegory smartly exploring the corporate privatisation of heath care and the potential ripple effects of this.
With a brief background in television, this is the first big screen turn from leading actor Andrea Mohylová. She does a stellar job with quite a complex role as Agent Em isn’t just ruthlessly chasing down justice but is also in mourning following the untimely death of her husband; the grief subplot does feel a little unnecessary given the other more interesting themes of the film but this small shortcoming can be forgiven. In a supporting part, Václav Neuzil is great as Europol representative Agent Mansfield; it’s unclear in the beginning where his allegiances lie so he’s the ideal slippery character for a twisty story like this.
A striking illustration of indie sci-fi, Restore Point is a slick and stylish feature debut from director Robert Hloz. With a gripping thriller plot and a strong central performance from Mohylová at its core, this is a visual engaging spectacle and a masterclass in making a low-budget go a long way.
Cinema Perspective 