After living most of his life believing the world does not want him, Peter (Matthew Jeffers) becomes embroiled with self-pity. In attempt to solve some personal issues and escape himself, our lead character teams up with his sex-worker neighbor and an iconic magenta SUV called “Shay’s Car” and the three set off across the continent. As one of the few films in history to cast a little person as the starring role, UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS offers up a voice often marginalized in society. And while Peter’s main characteristics differ a great deal from the director, Juan Felipe Zuleta uses a lot of his own experiences of isolation. As a first-generation American immigrant, Zuleta understands how life looks when you feel like you do not belong. Humorous, heart-warming, and aesthetically beautiful, this film is about people struggling to find their place in society because their body, mind, or sexuality can label them as unidentifiable.
At 15 years old, the nubile Winona (Sarah Hay) experienced an alien abduction where an advanced species extracted her DNA. Several years later, the now grown woman gets a message from her childhood alien pals. Her human DNA allowed the space dwellers to reproduce and now they want to thank Winona by whisking her away to the advanced world of Andromeda. There’s just one catch. This space-travelling species can’t pick her up at her house. Instead, she must make a pretty long journey across Canada in order to catch her intergalactic ride. In a panic, Winona calls on her shut-in neighbor to lend her his vehicle, and the makings for a buddy road-trip movie have begun. Peter, a gay unemployed dwarf and self-proclaimed genius does not want to be bothered. He does not want to talk to Winona, let alone lend her his car. However, Peter needs a lot of money and Winona is willing to pay a large sum of cash, so begrudgingly Peter agrees to drive to Canada with his bizarre neighbor.
As Winona shares her story of abduction with her new companion, Peter shares his story with the audience. We learn his crankiness serves as a mask to hide loss and regret. He mourns his wasted talents, his youth, and his best friend. He feels everything about his mind and body creates a divide between himself and the rest of the world. Throw in a global pandemic and we are looking at one lonely man. However, like all road-trip movies, the longer the journey the more the character develops. Peter tries to stay strong with his perception of life and others, but with each new interaction outside of his isolated bubble, he starts to grow his understanding of the world and himself. He encounters formative people along the way, some in reality and some in trippy dreams. And while the cinematography offers some beautifully shot moments, the dialogue helps pull the audience in as each conversation (real or imaginary) provides a viscerally real example of what it is like to be human.
As much as I loved the character of Winona, I also loved that she was basically a McGuffin to get Peter out of his house. Her character never really develops beyond the alien abduction, but that doesn’t matter because Peter is the main focus of the film. Often in films or books about a disabled body, an abled-bodied person must intervene to educate the disabled person on how to behave in an abled-bodied world or how to accept their differences. An able-bodied savior might work well for Oscar bait, but the disabled community more than deserves the credit to be their own heroes. Winona makes comments about how or why Peter should cheer up or change his perspective, but she never steps into the role of the abled-bodied savior. Instead, Peter learns ways to manage a world not meant for him through his own observations and life experiences. Winona helps with part of his growth, but in the end, Peter becomes his own biggest savior.
Two characters who continually find themselves on the margins pair up as a means to accomplish two very different goals. Both give great performances as their magical realism-tinted road trip helps them explore the world beyond their apartments as well as their own identities. UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS presents a well-acted cast and an emotional ride through Canada filled with fantasy sequences. Some movie goers might find the sci-fi components too ambiguous, but that’s because the director decided his star would be the brightest point in his crafted universe. Jeffers took on a role very rarely given to little people, and it allowed him to outshine everyone.
Tags: Alien Abduction, Aliens, Disability, Fantastic Fest 2022, Film Festivals, Juan Felipe Zuleta, Matthew Jeffers, Road Trip, Sarah Hay, Sci-Fi, Unidentified Objects
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