Everything Beautiful Is Far Away

You've got to be in the mood to just relax and go with it on this movie. I thought it was charming and quite enjoyable. It was very different, but is there anything wrong with that?

This is definitely something else. Slowburning, quirky, intriguing and lovely. AND quite original. With beautiful photography and music. Unknow little gem, with only 22 reviews on Imdb, mine included. How is that possible? The story: Julia Garner in a terrific role as one of 2 persons wandering through the desert in search for a lake. That's all there is to see. They wander around the desert, they drink, they eat, they talk to a robot... Best suited for an arthouse audience, who likes quirky, slowburning tales.

Likeable characters. The organised Lenert, the impulsive Rola and a Robothead called Susan set out for an adventure through the desert to find the "Crystal Lake", working together to avoid the desert pitfalls. A really nice movie to watch.

If you want a movie to sit back and relax to, this is it. Julia Garner is amazing and I found this movie because I wanted to see more work she was in. So glad I watched this. The other actor, Joseph Cross, was great as well! The soundtrack is just too good. The movie is fairly simple. A guy and a girl, (with the help of the guy's robot) search the desert for a lake that sounds like a myth. The rest is what you make of it. Great cinematography, great acting. It's as if the movie was made just for me. Credit to Pete Ohs, Andrea Sisson, and the rest of the team.

I came across this movie on HULU streaming, the description made it sound interesting. In fact it is very interesting and the two leads are pretty good. They don't explain much but judging on some of the dialog and the strange plant species they encounter, trying to find nourishment, seems like they must be on a planet that is not Earth. Julia Garner is Rola and she is wandering through the vast desert. When Joseph Cross as Lernert comes across her she seems near death with white foam at her lips. He realizes she has eaten a poisonous bulb that resembles an edible one, he gives her something which saves her. Each of them is wandering through the desert, and he is searching for a mysterious lake. He is also carrying an intelligent animatronic head that sees and talks. But only the head and part of his task is to find batteries to keep her "alive." So, even though they have a brief encounter with a lost man it is basically these three characters, and only two of them are alive. It could easily have been a two character stage play, in this case the desert is the stage. Actually nicely done overall but as a feature movie it doesn't contain a lot of meat on its bones. You have to be in the mood.

Lernert wanders aimlessly around the Southern California sand dunes eating shrub roots when he meets Rola who is badly in need of water. Lernert carries a mysterious spigot that is able to magically pull drinking water from the sand and he uses that to revive the young woman. Rola later returns the favor when she finds him lying on the ground unconscious from a head wound. That's when Lernert's AI computer known as Susan says they are near the Crystal Lake. Rola reveals that she is trying to find the Crystal Lake, and the pair who have now become friends head off to find the lake together. I think that science fiction fans will find this movie enjoyable in spite of its very low budget and unconvincing plot. The entire movie only has four actors in total, and the entire film is shot outdoors in the desert and at the Pacific Ocean which is supposed to be but doesn't look anything like a fresh water lake.

That's basically the whole movie with a robot thrown in. You don't need to see this movie. The cinematography is cool at times but it's not worth waiting an hour and a half for something to happen or some interesting conversation to happen. Nothing happens and there's nothing interesting in the conversations.

Very engaging! I never imagined a film shot in the desert could be so captivating! The characters became my friends and I found myself believing the world created on the screen. Thinking, "Oh, so that's what you eat when you're lost in the desert." Great message too. Loved it!