UFO Over My Bed (A)

In Pablo Oliverio's Buenos Aires, humans and aliens live together in a totalitarian society. Books and other publications are outlawed. Constant surveillance and state control rule this bleak future. The relationship between humans and aliens has broken down, and both are subject to the enslaving powers of consumption and technology. Some humans with jobs are permitted to remain in the city, but aliens and poor humans alike are exiled by the city's Department of Cleaning.

Cartographer Rex makes his way through the blighted city, witnessing skirmishes, burning books and lo-fi laser beams fired at protesters. By the light of flashing neon signs, Rex is watched by and interacts with robot representatives of the state. He dons a helmet and enters an altered state to draw beautiful maps with brush and ink. When his girlfriend leaves and he loses his job, Rex struggles between holding on to some form of employment or joining the resistance. Things take a turn for the hopeful when a new and mysterious roommate named Ian moves in, bringing the possibility of love. Along the path to revolution, we find an underground outlaw with cardboard goggles, comic book and video game worlds that come to life, and a rebel rendezvous in a nightclub.

Efforts to liberate the city intermingle with efforts to liberate the body. In this particularly relevant vision of the future, the world is run by consumption, greed and constant surveillance. Hope is offered by the possibility of queer extraterrestrial love. A society based on control is disrupted by desire unbound!

From the ominous titles that introduce the setting to graffiti coming to life, the film is visually stunning and charmingly strange. With extremely low budget special effects, it simultaneously subverts and joins the ranks of the science fiction genre. A testament to independent spirit, Oliverio wrote, directed and self-financed Un Ovni Sobre Mi Cama, with a 2-person crew, 25 actors and a set made entirely of found objects. Reminiscent of the bureaucratic nightmare of Brazil, the social control of Alphaville, and the video game world of Tron, this captivatingly dark film speaks directly to contemporary struggles with employment, protest, and the revolutionary potential of love.

Trailer...