Watch the Skies

"To know is one thing, but to believe is completely different."

The 2022 Swedish sci-fi film released in America for the first time asks questions about whether or not we are alone in the universe, but even more so it explores how we treat those who dare raise the question. The film has it where it counts exploring both the intellectual curiosity and emotional need of its characters as they search for the answer of what's really out there.

Eight years after her father (Oscar Töringe) disappears looking into a mysterious signal that can't be explained, Denise (Inez Dahl Torhaug) seeks out the the local collective who he betrayed and abandoned the night he vanished. With some impressive computer skills for the mid-90s, and a burning desire to discover  the truth, Denise pushes the boundaries of the group to get answers that the shadowy local scientific agency has been hiding.

While investigating UFOs and some odd events that will finally come into context during the film's final act, Watch the Skies is equally about finding answers as Denise finding herself and her own people in the oddball collection of likable losers known as UFO Sweden (Jesper Barkselius, Isabelle Kyed, Håkan Ehn, Niklas Kvarnbo Jönsson, and Mathias Lithner) who the local cop (Sara Shirpey) looking after Denise has the wrong opinion about believing them to be dangerous activists who will get Denise in even more trouble than usual.

The film from writer/director Victor Danell certainly has some 80s/90s sci-fi vibes which fits with the time in which the story is told. While relying more on the growing tension, a puzzle to be solved, and character-driven moments to tell the story than big effects the film still provides enough visual evidence to sell the otherworldly aspects of its story and make you question just where the film will ultimately lead. The Swedish film is dubbed into English through the AI tool TrueSync which does a pretty good job in making it appear the cast is speaking English, other the the odd exception here and there where you can see the tool struggle to make something fit. While I think it would be interesting to see the film in its original language and compare, the technology is certianly a massive improvement usual dubbing techniques and will likely open the film to the widest audience possible (which it deserves).

Watch the trailer

• Title: Watch the Skies
• IMDb: link