Terra

I am a judge for the Indianapolis-based Heartland Film Festival. This feature film is a Crystal Heart Award Winner and is eligible to be the Grand Prize Winner in October of 2008. The Heartland Film Festival is a non-profit that honors Truly Moving Pictures. A Truly Moving Picture “…explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life.”

This is an animation film clearly aimed at adults. There is a separate alien planet called Terra. Terra has different air, different plants, different animals, different terrain and different “people.” The “people” are physically different from humans, but emotionally and mentally are very similar to humans. They have no legs and move with a dolphin kick motion and have a tail attached to the back of their heads. They also use their own air and cannot use oxygen.

The Terra people are attacked by the remains of the human race. Earth and its warring neighbor planets have left our environment dead and the humans are on a giant space station desperately searching for oxygen to maintain what’s left of the human race.

We understand the Terra people through a teenage girl named Mala. We understand the humans through a downed fighter pilot named Lt. Stanton. Mala causes Lt. Stanton to crash on Terra and then she helps save Lt. Stanton’s life in their non-oxygen world.

But there is a terrible moral conflict facing the Terra people and the human race. It appears only one of them can survive. The Terra planet can stay as it is and support the Terra people or the planet’s air can be changed to oxygen to support the remnants of human beings who only have a short time left. Which side should the viewer take?

This is a powerful story, well told. The music and animation are more than satisfactory, but it is the pushing forward of the story that matters. There are good people by any definition on both sides who wrestle with what the right thing to do is. And the viewer is forced to dwell on what is right also. Powerful stuff.

FYI – There is a Truly Moving Pictures web site where there is a listing of past Truly Moving Picture Award winners that are now either at the theater or available on video.