This plucky Kickstarter-funded German sci-fi from director Daniel Raboldt comes with a distinct whisper of A Quiet Place, as well as Luc Besson’s almost dialogue-free film The Last Battle. Taking place in a war-against-the-machines future, its purist approach poses a few storytelling challenges, leaving its two protagonists at times gesticulating at each other as if in a post-apocalyptic game of charades.
Tomasz (Stefan Ebel) is a survivor in a man v machine conflict in which the latter are decidedly on top. He hunkers down in an abandoned house in the wilderness, setting up a perimeter forcefield to protect himself. That done, there’s not much to do other than get high on a weird blue narcotic. But out inspecting his generators one day, he’s waylaid by Lilja (Siri Nase), a fierce-eyed woman in a pair of Uggs (which, like cockroaches, appear able to survive armageddon). He wakes up bound and gaffer-taped, with her furiously soldering robot parts as though she’s trying to root out their secrets.
The pair must keep stumm, for fear of bringing in the automatons. In truth, it seems a bit illogical: wouldn’t such advanced technology pick up on motion or heat signatures? Even overlooking that, Raboldt’s visual storytelling isn’t quick-footed enough to capitalise on this self-imposed constraint. Tomasz and Lilja’s objectives are often hazy, and their inner motivations remain largely closed off, despite the actors’ best efforts. Ebel in particular is prone to cartoonish over-signposting – though you can’t totally blame him under the circumstances.
Still, A New World Order is atmospheric and integrates its digital effects with an unreal, anime-esque aplomb: the giant three-legged robots that loom over the forestscape were apparently inspired by 1980s TV series The Tripods. Despite the muddy narrative, it builds efficiently to its climax. There’s definitely enough deployed here to make it worth waiting to see what Raboldt can do with a larger budget.
• A New World Order is available on 23 August on digital platforms.
