In a dying world how far would you go to keep the environment you loved? And more importantly, in a world where you’ve lost the only person you’ve loved, can you ever really get them back? Is it worth trying to pretend you’re still where you were decades ago, or isn’t it just easier to let go and accept your fate? “Similo” is a brilliant and beautifully directed science fiction short that uses the world our character Heve lives in as an allegory for the relationship she lost a long time ago.
Decades after an environment altering event has occurred, man kind now lives in an artificial city that simulates the mundane world, including sun light. The gorgeous Aloma De Balma plays Hebe, a citizen of the city whose new mate Ciro has just been prepared to meet her once again. Despite being completely unaware of who Hebe is, Ciro is told he loves Hebe and garners memories of a time when he did love her. In spite of the fact that Hebe pours herself in to loving Ciro, Ciro simply has nothing to offer her emotionally, and retreats to a part of his life where he hopes to find the love that Hebe has for him. “Similo” is a visually striking and incredibly vivid science fiction tale with utterly dazzling cinematography. Directors Zac and Mac paint the morbid beauty with great detail, yet never quite halt the narrative to explain the particulars of Hebe’s world.
She lives in a small room, on computer generated day light, and spends most of her time living in the past. So much so that she’s willing to do whatever it takes to re-claim the sensation of love and life that she held decades before the Earth changed. Directors Zac & Mac ponder on the idea if you can ever really re-live the love you once felt, and not just the love, but the sensation of new love and passion. Surely, technology is an amazing facet of our everyday life and can simulate almost anything with enough progress, but can it ever substitute genuine human emotion? Directors Miguel de Olaso and Bruno Zacarías compose a stunning and bleak parable about how far we’d go to cling to memories of happiness and joy. I anxiously await the day they can deliver a feature film for their fans.