Eternal

Environmental scientist Elias meets the love of his life, aspiring singer Anita (the Danish pop star Oh Land). But what kind of love is there to be enjoyed when a huge fissure in the ocean floor caused by a deep-sea earthquake suggests the end of days? Elias, having been obsessed with this strange phenomenon for years, chooses to pursue his career over his relationship with Anita. Descending into the depths of the ocean on a special submarine mission to close the mysterious gap, he looks back on his relationship and wonders how different his life could have been. With this sci-fi variation of the ‘what-if?’ scenario, writer-director Ulaa Salim returns to the concept behind his similarly titled 2012 short. Extending it to feature length has given him space to set up the relationship between Elias and Anita. In particular, their first encounter – a bruising one for Elias – gives their relationship a refreshingly honest and frank appeal. It is precisely through the centrality of this deeply moving and carefully nuanced relationship that Eternal finds its strength, whilst the epically constructed claustrophobic deep sea dives ensure the film never loses sight of its sci-fi roots. (International Film Festival Rotterdam)