Czech Sci-Fi Film ‘Restore Point’ Confronts Karlovy Vary Audiences With Questions of Immortality
variety.comWill Tizard Contributor In Robert Hloz’s sci-fi feature debut “Restore Point,” second chances are big business. In the year 2041, anyone who has an unnatural death has the right to be brought back to life, provided they’ve dutifully created a backup of their personality called a “restore point.” Naturally, some object to the notion of artificially extending life ad infinitum, wherein the story begins to get complicated. “I wanted to make a sci-fi film since I was a little kid,” Hloz says, “but I would never guess that it will happen to be my debut.
I thought maybe third, fourth film.” But, as the Czech director recalls, he found himself going through notes for film ideas from screenwriter Tomislav Cecka and one of them began to loom large. “He came up with an idea for a very realistic sci-fi about our society in the near future, where people can be restored if something bad happens to them,” Hloz says. “I asked him to write me a one-pager with the ideas we discussed, but one week later he delivered the first 80 pages instead.” The idea appealed to Hloz because it portrayed how one fairly straightforward technological advance could open so many doors to mayhem.
With the restore point idea, he says: “We were able to divide the society. There are people who love using the restore points and people who think it makes your life worthless.” What’s more, he says, “There were so many moral questions and conflicts, and society pushes you to take sides.
It was a great joy to discover all those facets and make the characters to go through a journey where they are forced to question their choices.” The notion of a life restart also has a universal appeal, Hloz says. “I wanted the story to be ultimately relatable in a way so that
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