Total Recall (Group 8)

Total Recall: A mind vacation

By: Marc-Antoine Ouellette, Luca Piccioni, Ana Sofia, Frank Pham

Title: 

- Total Recall

Year of release: 
- 1990

Director: 
- Paul Verhoeven

Screenwriter: 
- Ronald Shusett

Lead actors: 
- Arnold Schwarzenegger (Quaid), Sharon Stone (Lori), Rachel Ticotin (Melina), Michael Ironside (Richter) and Ronnie Cox (Cohaagen).

Running time: 113 minutes 
("Total Recall." IMDb, IMDb.com, 1 June 1990, www.imdb.com/title/tt100802/)

Summary:

A construction worker named Douglas Quaid is living a peaceful life with his wife Lori. He is getting strange dreams about Mars concerning terrorists and these dreams keep coming back to him eventually giving him the desire to move to Mars. On his way back from work, he saw an ad of Recall in the metro, a program that offers a “vacation” that takes place in your mind. He told his wife and one of his coworkers about the whole situation, they both thought it was a bad idea for Quaid to do this. Disregarding all he was told, one morning he decided ,by himself, that he would try this “vacation” and he didn't seem afraid of all the potential danger that this procedure implies, he really
wanted to enter Rekall. When it was time for the implantation of the memory chip, there appeared to be a malfunction when he was about to enter the “dream” and the next thing you know he is sent away by an automated taxi from the agency because the error made him lose a major part of his memory. He eventually discovers that there are people trying to kill him and some helping him survive concerning a complex situation going on Mars. He then gets informed to get to the Red-Planet where he ends up finding lots of people he apparently used to know. The people who were trying to kill him followed him to Mars, but he manages to find “allies” to escape them. The main villain who operates the air supply on Mars decides to cut the air for the people which leads them to critical conditions. Quaid’s primary goal is to give air back to the people and he was able to do so due to information he had in his head that Kuato, a thought reader, retrieved for him. He was able to find the mother board that would restore an atmosphere on Mars.

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This movie showcased many cinematic devices such as props, transitions, sound edits and interesting sets who help tie this movie together creating its complex final product. Here are a few developed components: 

(sets different scenes and what the sets were like)

•           The city in which the movie begins seems to be very boring and perfect as we get a glimpse of the people in the city surrounding Quaid. They look like they live in a perfect life working from 9 to 5 in a mundane suburban lifestyle where nothing happens. Quaid is simply living his life with his beautiful wife and no apparent problems except that he desires to go on Mars. He seems to follow the same routine every day going to work and going in the metro where everyone seems depressed. This completely contrasts the liveliness of the world he is transported into. This further expresses the meaning of people looking for an adventure through Recall. The juxtaposition of Quaid’s picture perfect life to the new world he discovers is what helps him discover himself at the end of the film.

• Mars appears very desert-like. From the shots taken from afar, what can be seen of Mars is lots of dunes, construction and a few buildings here and there. Since it also doesn’t look very nice, it could be suggested that it reflects the evil that lays within the planet. In addition to that,  the red blood dripping all over the screen represents the bad, so it would also be tied to the evil that lies on Mars which we will soon find out to be Cohaagen.

(props important and significant props)

•  The grey suitcase at the beginning of the movie is an important prop because it is the first thing Quaid receives before going on his journey so it must be an important part in the film and so it was. It contained a message and some gadgets that will serve him. It was actually what initiated Quaid's adventure in informing him what was at stake and what he was about to face.
•  One prop is the hand engravement used to activate the reactor. This prop is integral to the movie as it’s Quaid’s goal to reach the prop to save Mars. The scene where Quaid is struggling to reach the hand because he’s being pulled back by the opening to Mars is  suspenseful because we keep wondering if he’s going to make it to the hand. 

(acting, choice of actors name names, evaluate their acting in terms of their success or failure in playing that particular role.)

•  Arnold Schwarzenegger did a pretty good job in his role but in the two he was playing, Douglas Quaid and Carl Hauser, he was better at Hauser. We feel like Arnold usually has a problem portraying emotions which is why he looks better playing villains or simply character who do not open up too much.
•  Rachel Ticotin as Melina was ok at playing the role but not phenomenal. She was supposed to be Quaid's form lover but there never really seemed to be any connection between them. This might also be Arnold's failed but Melina didn't really look like she loved him even at the end of the movie when they kissed. It almost feels like she simply did not know how to act out love. 

(Sound)

•  During the fight scenes in the movie, whenever Quaid throws a punch, you can hear a cartoony “swoosh” sound effect when the punch connects. This is an example of diegetic sound and this sounds adds impact to the punch and makes the punch feel more real. 

•  When Quaid is at Recall, the machine used to simulate memories uses many beeping and gear sounds. This is another example of diegetic sound as the sound is coming from the machine.  These sounds actually make it seem that the machine is running and functioning.

(Editing)

• An example of cross-cutting is when the oxygen is released from the reactor and into the atmosphere where the camera cut between Quaid and Melina gasping for air, the oxygen blasting the civilians, and the oxygen actually leaving the reactor. This scene creates suspense as you keep on wondering if the oxygen will leave in time before Quaid and Melina suffocate. It also induces panic as the camera frantically cuts between locations.
• The use of close-ups is to emphasize the importance of a character's words when they are given the spotlight. This shot allows the viewers to more closely understand where the plot is going. During the scene in which Cohageen briefly discuses his actions to capture Quaid, there is a change of tone in the characters as the shot closely pans onto Cohageen, giving the audience a suspense of what is to come. The close-up is also used to highlight main ideas in the plot. It was used during the scene where Quaid was being restrained after going haywire, and we get a close-up shot of one of the scientist that comments, "That's a new one. Blue sky on Mars.", which is later foreshadowed at the end of the movie where Quaid activates the activator releasing oxygen to the atmosphere, causing the sky to turn blue. We also get a glimpse of the birds-eye-view of Mars which then quickly transitioned to Cohaagen in his chair, portraying his power and authority over his colony in Mars.

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• One of the themes in "Total Recall" is the nature of reality and what is considered to be real. This film explores what reality really means and what constitutes as reality. For example, we know that Quaid's memories did not actually take place, but they seem lifelike that Quaid has believed his whole life that his memories are real. He does not have any memories as Hauser, but people around him like Lori, Melinda, ect. talk about Hauser.Another theme is finding and knowing our true self.
• Another major theme that can be seen in this movie is social inequality. There were many cases where people were disregarded or simply considered as useless such as the mutants. The mutants were treated unfairly and were not cared for. Cohaagen ignored one of his soldiers when he mentioned that the life of the mutants were at risk as the fans were malfunctioning. The mutants lived a life in poverty as there were many instances where the mutants were haggling and begging for their survival. If it wasn't for Quaid, the would have all died because Cohaagen was going to let them die due to lack of breathable air.

• Betrayal was also another theme that could be noticed. There was a case between Quaid and the woman looking just like his wife who we aren't sure of her identity and there was also betrayal between the taxi driver who seemed completely innocent but turned on Quaid towards the end. 

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- Comments on the movie

In general, this movie showed to be well rounded and complete in terms of its content. It engaged the viewer and made think throughout the whole movie. The setup of the movie was left open for interpretation by the viewer. There was no obvious way of knowing if Quaid had been sent in Recall or if there actually was a problem in the process and he actually had all these adventures in “the real world”. As most movies with Arnold Schwarzenegger, it was cheesy, and the protagonists appeared to live happily ever after once they had saved everyone on Mars. 

  

-Weaknesses

This movie's main weakness is its age. Therefore, its content might be out dated and less relevant to the beliefs and visions we have now. There was a brown car at the beginning of the movie which we suppose was meant to look futuristic, but it looked more like a cereal box on wheels. We do not have the same thoughts on what the future will look like if comparing the 1990 vision and the 2019 vision. Another weakness of this movie is probably noticeable because of the progress this element has seen over the years — special effects. They are not bad at all, they simply seem to be unrealistic by times as the scene when the atmosphere is reestablished on Mars (the shock wave).


-Strengths

In terms of its strengths, this movie presents an interesting plot that is at the same time cheesy and predictable, but also action packed and complex. At the very beginning, it does a great job at confusing its viewer with the scene where an error appears to happen as Quaid is about to enter Recall. This raises many questions such as: what will Quaid do if he gets to see his wife again? Is Melina "real"? If Quaid dies, would he really be dead? All these questions are open to interpretation and don't really have a "right" answer.

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 ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

•  The theme of metaphysics branches out to all that relates to reality and existence--the whole psychological and the material world. If Quaid is in fact dreaming, how could we know if anything around him exists, is “real”. If he dies, would he die in real life just as in the Matrix considering we would be dreaming? How could we really know? There was an interesting scene when Quaid was in his room on Mars and someone knocked on the door. It was the man from Rekall back in his “normal” life. But was it really him? Quaid begins to question him about how he got there, and he said he was implanted as a safety program to infiltrate Recall. He then mentioned an option of leaving early without finishing the dream, but Quaid found it suspicious. Apparently, all he had to do was to swallow a pill to announce he wanted to return. Then a woman identical to his wife, possibly the same as the one who tried to kill him, arrives claiming to be his “real” wife and tells him she got there the same way the doctor did but simply to visit him. Quaid refused to believe any of that. He pointed a gun at the doctor’s head and the doctor said it would cause a malfunction in the program if he killed him. He acted as if he took the pill then spat it out and shot the doctor. At that moment his “wife” jumped on him and reinforcements came it to capture Quaid. At this point we could conclude that the woman was indeed the same as the one who tried to kill him. Could the doctor and her both be fake and simply characters part of the dream? Will it really cause a problem to Quaid’s return? There is not enough info to tell if the world he is in is reality or if he really is in a simulation.

• Epistemology is the study of knowledge and what is the truth. Throughout the movie, Quaid constantly questions who he really is as a person. Does his past identity define him, or does who he is now define him, even though most of his life currently was just a dream? An example of this is in the taxi, the driver asks him if this is his first time on Mars, and Quaid responds, “Kind of”. Does his past experience on Mars as a secret agent count as truth, even though he never remembers it? Quaid constantly wants to know the truth of himself and his past, but at the same wonders if that’s really his true self.

• Another connection is with personhood. Personhood is the status of being a person. In this movie, the people of Mars are born into a poor social status where there are constant riots where the people protest for freedom and clean air. The government do not treat the people of Mars as people, as the government does not give them basic human rights, such as freedom, clean air, food, etc. The government makes no effort in improving the situation for the people of Mars. 

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• Is the "doctor" right and that the whole movie is just a simulation created by Recall taking place in Quaid's head? 

• If you were implanted memories of an adventure including a romantic relationship, how would you feel toward your "real" partner after coming back from your adventure? Would you still love your partner in the same way? 

• If a dream simulation facility existed, where you could have your dream vacation be simulated inside your head, and you would know it would just be a simulation that could have serious consequences on your brain, would you do the simulation? Why or why not?

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Further internet resources:

https://deepfocusreview.com/reviews/total-recall/

This website features an analysis of the movie comparing it to many classic science-fiction movies such as Blade Runner (Original) and Robocop (Original). Its cinematic features are explored from its special effects to its remarkable makeup effects.

http://www.philfilms.utm.edu/1/totalrec.htm

This source explores the movie in therms of the ideas it projects. It argues that this is a philosophical film that is to a certain point, similar to the Matrix.



WORKS CITED


Eggert, Brian. "Total Recall." Deep focus review, https://deepfocusreview.com/reviews/total-recall/

"Total Recall." Philosophical Films, http://www.philfilms.utm.edu/1/totalrec.htm

Movie trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFMLGEHdIjE

"Total Recall." IMDb, IMDb.com, 1 June 1990, www.imdb.com/title/tt100802/

McKinney, Kelly. Knowing the Inner Self, John Abbott Collage, 2019, pp. 3 and 21. Course Pack.

Golden, John. "Introducing Cinematic and Theatrical Elements in Film." Knowing the Inner Self, Edited by Kelly McKinney, John Abbott Collage, pp. 9-17. Course Pack.