In the year 2092, Earth has become nearly uninhabitable. The UTS Corporation builds a new orbiting home for humanity with clear air and water; however, only an elite few are permitted to ascend to this green and bountiful land.
Many non-citizens find work as 'Space Sweepers', collecting debris from space to sell to UTS. Make enough cash and you can buy your way into citizenship. For most, of course, that dream never eventuates.
The most notorious crew amongst the hardscrabble space sweepers are the crew of the Victory; four self-centred wild cards who are more than willing to poach a cargo from under the noses of the other ships.
The latest cargo they find includes quite the surprise: a robot in the shape of a small girl, which contains a powerful weapon of mass destruction. According to news reports, this robot-child is a key element in a planned terrorist attack.
The crew of the Victory react to this development with their usual greedy recklessness, planning to sell the kid back to the terrorist organisation. As their efforts to do so unfold, however, hidden truths about the child, about UTC, and about each of them begin to come out. And perhaps the four most deadbeat, cynical and self-absorbed space sweepers in the solar system are going to show a side of themselves that no-one (least of all them) expects.
This South Korean science fiction film is an action-comedy. It's got a good cast, good effects and some genuine laughs, and is ultimately a very satisfying ride. However, I did find it a little difficult to get into at first. This was largely due to the fact that the crew of the Victory are initially quite unpleasant people. Ultimately though it emerges that their unpleasantness actually serves an important narrative purpose. When the film starts the crew are unbridled capitalists in an unbridled capitalist system, tearing down others in a desperate effort to get ahead, while actually going backwards with ever short-sighted money grabbing decision.
At the core of Space Sweepers, you see, is a strong criticism of unbridled capitalism. This is a film that celebrates the power of compassion and co-operation ahead of competition and self-interest. The crew's journey throughout the film clearly shows this: each of them begins it alone, unhappy and slowly sinking into deeper and deeper debt. Only by choosing a less selfish path and acting for the betterment of society as a whole can they break out of that slow downward spiral.
Good stuff.
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