"Before We Vanish" : A Refreshing Take On Alien Domination

Kiyoshi Kurosawa tries to re-define what an alien take-over would look like. He delivers his vision of alien invasion through his own inventive idea of aliens hosting human kind with an ultimate vision to wipe-out humankind and take over Earth.

"Before We Vanish" really captures how and alien invasion could potentially play out -- through an unknown species hosting human bodies for a 'smooth' and tactical Earth take-over. The whole film is in Japanese but the English subtitles helped me feel more intrigued and focused throughout the whole duration of the film. Kurosawa was able to curve away from the cliché alien invasion Wci-fi Thriller Hollywood trend. He evidently impressed myself and other audience members with his serious but comedic plot twist. I have personally never been a huge fan of watching films where I am reliant on the subtitles to understand the story line, but somehow it worked extremely well in the director's favor in "Before We Vanish". Kurosawa effectively helped alter my previous negative perception of 'alien domination' films.

The acting in this film is also what contributed immensely to its somewhat realistic and mind-blowing innovative plot. There were an extensive amount of violent scenes throughout the film, illustrating the difference in humanity (empathy and compassion) to the aliens' way of thinking and treating others. It thereby worked well, having this mixture of violent outbursts and comedic remarks by the hosted bodies as they learn about the human race.

The major flaw I saw in the screening of the film was the length, as various scenes could have been completely discarded to strengthen the powerful plot even more. But besides from this minor fault, Kiyoshi Kurosawa effectively made a lasting impression with his innovative take on a 'casual' world domination by an alienated race.