Captain Nova (2021)

Directed by: Maurice Trouwborst | 86 minutes | science fiction, family | Actors: Kika van de Vijver, Marouane Meftah, Anniek Pheifer, Hannah van Lunteren, Joep Vermolen, Ergun Simsek, Ricky Koole, Ricky Koole, Pierre Bokma, Harry van Rijthoven, Peter van de Witte, Yentl Schieman

The earth is not doing well. In 2050 it will just about end. We have exhausted the earth, what remains is sand and heat. The Dutch youth science-fiction film ‘Captain Nova’ starts in this doomsday scenario: with minimal means, director Maurice Trouwborst creates a world that could come straight out of ‘Blade Runner 2049’. It only saves one year… We see fighter pilot Nova carefully walking around, but the gauges on her arm go off and she has to go inside quickly. There is only one option left; the plan is for it to go back in time to 2025. This is the year when the tide can still be turned.

Accompanied by a friendly, but not yet humorous robot ADD, Nova flies back in time, but what she and her research team have not taken into account is an important side effect. Although she ends up in the right year – 2025 -, she is therefore also the age she was then. The 37-year-old scientist is 12 years old again. The fact that she becomes unconscious during the crash of the capsule is of course no fun either; but luckily Nas witnesses the crash on his quad. ADD brings him in because he hopes Nas can help, but when Nas rescues the unconscious Nova in an abandoned factory, ADD learns that Nas isn’t a doctor — hello, he’s a teenager! ADD sends him away, but Nas is determined and curious enough to help Nova move forward. Since the security service is also after the pilot of the crashed capsule, Nas and Nova decide to steal the car of Claire, chief investigator at defense, and thus help Nova on her mission.

‘Captain Nova’ lasts less than an hour and a half and had no Hollywood budget, but every minute and every euro was used to create an exciting and believable story. The scenario takes the target audience very seriously: no exaggerated bad guys here, no megalomaniac industrialist who makes wrong decisions with disastrous consequences to get their hands on world power. The film makes it very clear that no one can be blamed for the environmental disaster; it is a sum of wrong choices. A brilliant idea is also Nova’s freezegun; in this way she can eliminate opponents, but no blood flows. It also has a deeper meaning; in the film it is jokingly said that the victims can think about their lives, their careers and so on during their break, but we really don’t all need such a pause button to realize how our actions affect our fellow human beings, and in the light of the survival of the earth, the environment?

Big kudos to the casting too; the debuting Kika van de Vijver is a great heroine and very convincing as a cold-blooded 37-year-old in the body of a young teenager with a mission of vital importance. Her co-star Marouane Meftah is also fantastic; his disbelief and incomprehension turns into curiosity and determination at just the right time and you immediately take him into your heart. The supporting roles are also fine, with a credible Hannah van Lunteren (Claire) and a very funny Joep Vermolen as her assistant.

‘Captain Nova’ is an exciting adventure, with an important message that is subtly woven into the story. Well acted and produced, this movie has all the puppets, resources and heart in the right place. This movie deserves a large audience.