Of course the moment we publish our list of the films we’re anticipating most for 2012, we start to see trailers and things for movies we’ve never heard of that are coming out this year that immediately look like something we need to see.
“Upside Down” is a fantasy film from an Argentinean director named Juan Diego Solanas, and based on this peek at the movie, it’s a big lovely Andrew Niccol style “imagine if the world was like this” movie. Jim Sturgess and Kirsten Dunst are the stars of this one, and it looks like Solanas has spent his money well, creating a great big visual hook that everything hinges on. Movies like this are tricky to pull off, and most of the time, it’s coming up with a tone that matches the big visual decision and making it work beyond the gimmick.
The first thing I can’t help but notice is that one of the most iconic moments in any of Kirsten Dunst’s films was in “Spider-Man,” with the upside-down kiss in the rain. Casting her in this is one of those choices that seems like a big bag of duh. The question mark for me is Sturgess, who has had a number of shots as a leading man, and so far, I haven’t felt like he really connected at all. He does have his fans, though, and I suspect this will play an extended run on a double-bill with “Across The Universe” at the New Beverly for three or four months.
Here’s the trailer, which we spotted via the fine folks at Bleeding Cool:
First, though, it’s got to find an American distributor. I have no idea what the plan with the film is, or when we’ll get a chance to see it, but a trailer like this is enough to get me to make sure I look for this one. It’s funny how you can nod to the Paris dreams from “Inception” and last year’s “Another Earth” and any number of other films, but it’s the way Solanas plays with these images that could make “Upside Down” into something special. Or intolerable. It’s so often a fine line with movies like these.