May 7, 20172 min read

Timeless indie film

★★★

Directed by Alexander Tuschinski

Starring Sebastian B., Alexander Tuschinski, Phillipp Metzler, Harry Lennix, & Rick Shapiro

Indie Film Review by Chris Olson

Anarchic yet charming, Alexander Tuschinski's uneven indie film Timeless is a Molotov cocktail of filmmaking energy that coalesces into a vibrant and enthusiastic outing.

Few films combine as many elements as Tuschinksi's feature, who writes, directs, edits and produces here. There is a plot involving time-travel, anarchists and rebellion, as well as slap-stick comedy sequences of American sitcoms, physical humour, and philosophical ponderings about the nature of art, power and everything in between.

The tale is of Arnold (Sebastian B.) who finds himself dislocated from the 1930s into a bizarre future that is run on propaganda and totalitarianism. He is fortunate enough to find refuge with a group of renegades, in particular the charismatic Mr. Konstantin (Alexander Tuschinski), whom espouses his eclectic worldview and life lessons to all around him; such as how to pick up girls using his faultless method...or how to stage a revolution.

Whilst the plot is baffling, the filmmaking is equally as eccentric. Fast cuts, vivid colour filters, and misplaced frames are just a few of the techniques in the bottomless bag of magic tricks which Tuschinski applies to Timeless. And what is just as incredible is that they, for the most part, are hugely enjoyable! There is a palpable passion for movies and storytelling when watching the film that you cannot help but engage with. The frenetic pacing of the scenes, the tongue in cheek dialogue, and the reckless abandon of conventional structures are quite simply bold and beautiful. There were also some brilliant props used throughout the movie, including weapons and tanks, as well as excellent costumes which felt like a nod of the head to vintage cinema.

Like all controversial art, many audiences will not be attracted to the ungainly nature of the piece. Characters are not sketched in huge detail, instead smeared across the screen like visceral ideas. The more wacky scenes (such as Mr. Konstantin attempting to elude two females he bedded) have a classic comedy styling which has a universal humour, whilst the darker comedy moments are injected with the same amount of gusto (such as Arnold being interrogated by Harry Lennix and Rick Shapiro).

It's too long, quite baggy, and inconsistent throughout but Timeless is also a lot of fun. The genre-hopping is done with confidence and skill, the elaborate filmmaking is daring and at times very intelligent, and the willingness to be thematically challenging is something starkly missing from a great deal of modern storytelling.

Watch the official movie trailer for Timeless below...