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Z.P.G. (1972)

Rate: 6
Viewed: 12/20

ZPG
12/20: The letters for the title Z.P.G. ominously stand for Zero...Population...Growth.

In the tradition of Soylent Green and Logan's Run, Z.P.G. presents a dystopian view of how to get a smoggy, overpopulated planet under control in the future. This time, the solution is outlawing pregnancies for the next thirty years; otherwise, it's death for the couple.

Does it sound far-fetched? Maybe not, but I can see the U.S. government doing this, having already dictated people's actions and censored their freedom of speech. Yet I'm not sure about the masks worn by the characters. There's no filter anywhere on them as they're still breathing the same poisoned air. This is doubly true while indoors.

What bothers me a lot about the ending is Russ and Carol choosing to run away to a zoned land that's full of radiation. Won't it be self-defeating by allowing themselves, including the baby, to be prone to cancer in no time? Then again, if there are no plants and animals, how is Earth inhabitable for human beings? What are they eating after all? And it's made from exactly what?

Oliver Reed tends to dominate pictures, but here, he's largely ineffective. Instead, it's about the plot which is based on Paul Ehrlich's sensationalistic book The Population Bomb. Although the sci-fi concepts are interesting, the movie is slow-paced that's almost lifeless and devoid of emotions. After the novelty wears off, there's no meat left; hence, it runs on fumes for a while, giving me a hard time to reach the end.

Geraldine Chaplin, who's Charlie's daughter, has dots under both of her eyes. I thought at first she had a mascara problem, but they were real after all; hence, they're called beauty marks. Her performance isn't great anyway: just flat, causing the film to be slow.

All in all, by filling in more substance to cover up the plot holes while providing new concepts, Z.P.G. can come closer to being in the same league with Soylent Green and Logan's Run as great dystopian sci-fi pictures.