Dystopian Contra-Futurismos: Subtle science fiction meets slow cinema in Dead Slow Ahead (Herce 2015) and Jauja (Alonso 2014)

Two iconic slow cinema works, Dead Slow Ahead (DSA) (Herce 2015) and Jauja (Alonso 2014), share a contemplative style and a recourse to science fiction, concealed beneath other genres (documentary, western, historical drama). Whereas both films are counter-futurist and foretell the triumph of capital and the demise of our species, they operate differently: DSA is a critique of the acceleration of capitalist exploitation and the diminishment of human life aboard slow-moving cargo vessels; it concludes with hope for humanity, based on our shared solidarity. Jauja, ostensibly a critique of colonialism, examines astronoetic and existential questions about humanity’s place within space and time. In both films, juxtaposing slow cinema techniques (long takes, long shots, minimalist narrative) with dystopian sci-fi elements unleashes an uncanny atmosphere that lays bare the unfathomable aloneness of the human experience in the cosmic expanse.