Repo Man

Miller: There ain't no difference between a flying saucer and a time machine. People get so hung up on specifics. They miss out on seeing the whole thing. Take South America for example. In South America thousands of people go missing every year. Nobody knows where they go. They just like disappear. But if you think about it for a minute, you realize something. There had to be a time when there was no people. Right?
Otto: Yeah. I guess.
Miller: Well where did all these people come from? Hmmm? I'll tell you where. The future. Where did all these people disappear to? Hmmm?
Otto: The past?
Miller: That's right and how did they get there?
Otto: How the fuck do I know?
Miller: Flying saucers. Which are really? Yeah you got it. Time machines. I think a lot about this kind of stuff. I do my best thinking on the bus. That how come I don't drive, see?

I remember seeing this movie when I was a kid - my first boyfriend thought it was really funny, but I don't think I quite understood it back then. Funnily enough, I was talking about this movie to Woja just the other week - and then I noticed it was on Sci-fi Channel on Wednesday so I taped it and watched it tonight.

Repo Man is a weird movie, even by 80s standards. It tells a story about a suburban little punk Otto (played by Emilio Estevez) who wounds up being a repo man (as in reposessing cars) after it turns out his parents have donated his college funds to a TV evangelist. The events don't take place in our reality though - this is a paranoid world full of mercenaries, MIBs and warring gangs, and somewhere in the middle of all this there is a certain mysterious 1964 Chevy Malibu that contains some dangerous cargo.

To be honest, this movie is so weird I'm not sure I would have even watched it again without the nostalgia it stirred up. I think I liked it - even though there isn't really much of a plot, and the ending is really... 80s, there are lot of really funny moments and some ingenious ideas. For example, all food is sold in white and blue containers (a bit like Tesco's value range) with only the name of the food on it - like "corn flakes", "beer" or just "drink" or "food". Otto is a punk, but he's got a good heart, UFO conspiracy theorist Miller is just weird and the MIBs - who are all blond, and lead by a woman with a steel hand - are just absurd.

Recommended watching time: after midnight, preferably with your sci-fi nerd friends. Guaranteed enjoyment.