Film Review: Cargo (2020)

Cargo, not to be confused with Cargo – the other Netflix original film that came out a couple years back (kinda surprised and annoyed they didn’t go with another title here, but whatever), is an Indian film from writer/director, Arati Kadav, serving as her debut feature. It is a fascinating blend of science fiction and religious mythology, and it’s easily one of the most imaginative and original works I’ve seen in science fiction filmmaking in a very long time. One that endlessly inspires thought, wonder, and surprise at almost every turn throughout the narrative, transcending its minimalist setup and budgetary limitations.

Though, to box it in the science fiction genre doesn’t totally do the film justice. You see, it takes place in a future where “rakshasas,” demons rooted in Hindu mythology, have advanced along with society, and signed a peace treaty. They have also setup an organization that has many of them operate in space stations where they take in the recently deceased, and go through the transition process to lead them to the next life. We’re in the ship Pushpak 634A, which is operated by Prahastha (Vikrant Massey). He’s done this for many years, and has found a groove that makes the day go by easy.

Prahastha can be described as someone who likes things the way he likes it, and resists any kind of change. He likes the isolation, he has a good rhythm with his operations, but that is soon challenged when he is informed by his superiors on Earth that he will be getting an assistant, Yuvishka (Shweta Tripathi), who is a more extroverted and curious personality that also engages with her fans through social media posts, not unlike the videos you would see from someone like Chris Hadfield. Prahastha is initially quite resistant to Yuvishka’s presence, but ultimately finds a way for them to work together.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a film take such a direct approach in taking spiritual ideas, and filter them through a sci-fi lens, often literalizing very out-there, metaphysical concepts such as reincarnation. It’s deeply fascinating to watch it all unfold, and you don’t need a deep knowledge of Hindu mythology to get this, since the film provides enough exposition and context clues to make things fairly clear, even if the film doesn’t go out of its way to show and explain everything about how this incredibly strange world operates.

I love how the aesthetics of the film seem to be rooted in old school sci-fi, like something out of the early 70s. The spaceship and its equipment look scrappy and well worn, some stuff doesn’t even work properly. The little CGI used in the film is reserved mostly for the occasional exterior shots of the ship. It’s incredibly earnest, never once winking at the camera, though it is still incredibly far from humorless. The film has a wonderful sense of humor, with much of the funniest moments coming from these darkly comedic bits where we see the final moments of someone on Earth before they suddenly appear on the ship.

If there are some drawbacks to the film, they are fairly minimal in the grand scheme of things. Kadav’s attempt to add some drama and complications in the second half of the film don’t feel totally necessary, and they do pump the brakes on the film’s infectious energy. And if you go into this hoping to have a strong understanding of the worldbuilding, you might find yourself frustrated since some details don’t totally add up (the dead people on the ship making phone calls back to Earth, for instance), but I never considered that to be an issue since it’s a film that is largely driven by feeling, theme, and metaphor rather than logistics and intricacies of the plot.

Vikrant Massey is very good in the film, crafting a character that is informed by his monotonous work life, to the point where he becomes a bit detached from his work. The inclusion of Shweta Tripathi brings a sense of life back to the ship that also bring him a sense of humanity that he seems to have lost. She also has enough personality and character to not just be a vessel for the male counterpart to change. They two have already worked together on the Amazon series Mirzapur, so they have a familiarity that allows for easy chemistry.

I came out of Cargo deeply impressed. I love its ambitions, I love its weirdness, I love its tender and human touch, I love its darkly comedic flourishes, and I love how it married mythology and science fiction, two areas of storytelling that would otherwise seem like complete opposites. It features intriguing worldbuilding without losing sight of character, it gets philosophical without feeling preachy, and it commits to old school aesthetics without feeling like hollow pastiche. Arati Kadav delivers the rare film that truly feels one-of-a-kind, and unlike anything you’ll find in Indian cinema today. It absolutely makes her a filmmaker to watch, and I can’t wait to see what she does next. Because if her skills and creativity shown in something as small and contained as this is of any consideration, I can’t imagine what she might have in store with greater resources. Western audiences might not immediately pick up on the nuances of everything that’s shown here, but it guides you along fairly well, and at the very least, it brings a very distinct perspective to the genre, which is always something worth looking into and appreciating.

Cargo is now available on Netflix.