Blade Runner
1982
In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.
Genres:
My notes
I've seen this film easily a half dozen times (though never more than a few minutes of the theatrical cut due to the narration), but I think this was the first time I was honestly moved by the plight of the Nexus 6 replicants. It made for a conflicted viewing, since Deckard is the protagonist, yet the Replicants are victims, and so him achieving his goal (retiring them) felt morally wrong. It's a nice first half to the questions that Mars Express really triggered in me earlier this year—what's the difference between a biological robot and a living creature?
And what does it say about me that it took multiple viewings to really start to ask that question?