Movie Review: The Man From Earth

This one is definitely a thinker. The 2007 release of Jerome Bixby's The man From Earth is not what you'd expect especially from modern science fiction. It takes place now, it takes place in this reality, and it involves no aliens. The one thing it does do, and it does it very well, is make you question what you know.

The main question it asks, in my mind, is "what is time"? Time isn't just an intangible it's also an abstract concept. Even a clock only measures other clocks, or at best our objective sense of time. But objective time isn't how we witness it, we feel time subjectively. You go to work and time seems to slow down, you go home and get on the computer and it seems to speed up. Intellectually we can say that two hours at work is the same as two hours at home, but it's not, not to us.

Another question it asks is about perception, first about what things are named, geography, history, and eventually religion. It doesn't directly confront religion and call it untrue but rather raises the infallibility of man question. Almost all of us had to have taken part in the communication exercise where you line up several people in a row and the leader or instructor whispers something into the first persons ear and then we pass it person by person by whisper until we get to the last person and the message has completely changed. Yet somehow we believe our religions to be immune to this concept.

While they specifically reference Christianity in the movie, and I believe Roman Catholicism (though they don't outright say it), I think the same question can and should be asked of all our faiths, regardless of monotheistic, polytheistic, pagan, or any other concept outside those realms of thought.

Throughout the film the lead character is questioning the perception of reality and time of the other characters while they, in turn, question his sanity. Even in so far as to bring in a psychologist who is unable to refute his logic except through circular argument. Then end is a double revelation and definitely (unlike most modern films) unexpected.

This is a must see for anyone who likes to think or just likes films in general. Go check it out, but it's an "under-the-radar" type so unless you live in my area I can't guarantee library availability. Check it up, double thumbs-up Timmy recommendation.