Photo: Julia Roberts | Netflix
Text: Editorial Cuba Noticias 360
“Leaving the World Behind,” starring and produced by Julia Roberts, is a film that continues to surprise.
Based on the novel of the same name, the action takes place on Long Island, where an American family of four decides to rent a mansion to spend an atypical vacation, far from the hustle and bustle of the big cities. The relationship between man and technology is considered from different aspects and taking into account the characteristics of each character: age, context, level of education, personal interests… which characterize the type of consumption they practice while surfing the Internet.
We see Julia Robert as a mother, also as a woman and above all as a person with her own fears and contradictions, while she is struck by a catastrophe without warning. The alleged cyberattack that they experience from the detached luxury villa, an experience that they share with their owners through a twist of fate, becomes an avalanche of questions for the viewer: What would happen if the world were like us you know? changed? ? If the sources we ask about don't work, how can we resolve our doubts? How might one best respond to such a reality?
The fiction arrives at particularly sensitive times following the Covid-19 pandemic, which likely gives the film a bit more realism.
“Leave the World Behind” is available on Netflix and has many references to other cultural and media products, with the connection to the series “Friends” probably being the most noticeable.
The film's premiere took place just a few weeks after the tragic death on October 28, 2023 of actor Matthew Perry, who played the funny Chandler Bing in the series and turned out – off-screen – to be Julia Roberts' ex-star. partner just as the second season of the sitcom was being filmed. This was interpreted by many Friends fans as a beautiful tribute and Julia's way of saying goodbye to Matthew through her artistic legacy.
Another, perhaps surprising, nod is when one of the characters in the series, a contractor who lives next door to the mansion, connects what they are experiencing to the alleged sonic attacks in Havana, which have affected dozens of American diplomats in Cuba and theirs Families reported hearing ringing noises and then experiencing troubling neurological injuries, including pain, dizziness and difficulty concentrating.
Danny, the contractor, assures in “Leaving the World Behind” that the situation is “not much different than what happened in Cuba some time ago.” They are called microwave weapons. They produce a type of radiation that is transmitted through sound,” in clear reference to what is also known as “Havana Syndrome.” And he points out as he looks at Amanda Sanford's eldest son (Julia) with a bloody mouth: “There were people who lost their teeth too.” Other than that, all I know is there's not a lot of information floating around.”
The premiere, as almost always, met with mixed opinions. The reviews mostly highlight the quality of the script and performances and perhaps miss a better dosage of cinematic devices such as sound to create more tension. In any case, we need to see it so that then, as Cuban journalist Reinaldo Taladrid said, “we can draw our own conclusions.”