Preparing for ‘The Future’
Ashley Jo Will

Sophie, Jason and Paw-Paw are full of hope and trepidation in the film “The Future”, released on video Nov. 29, 2011. Paw-Paw is an injured stray cat who has been taken to an animal shelter. The workers there say the cat must stay there for thirty days to recover. If Paw-Paw is not picked up then, the shelter will euthanize the abandoned cat. Sophie and Jason are the ones who saved the cat for the time being. They are both 35 years old and feel like they are doing nothing significant as their lives quickly pass them. The vet technician at the shelter tells them that Paw-Paw could live for five more years if given lots of love. According to Sophie and Jason, they will be old in five years. With this realization, Sophie and Jason decide to alter their lives until the time comes to be responsible for their new furry friend.

Sophie is a dance instructor for small children. She loves to dance at home, even if she isn’t very good. Sophie is primarily a dreamer and imagines dancing taking her far in life. A few of her friends have YouTube videos of themselves dancing at home. Sophie seems to be a bit envious of the large number of views they generate. For the next month until Paw-Paw can be adopted, Sophie leaves her job and plans to do 30 dance videos in 30 days. She emails her friends about this endeavor. Watching other videos makes Sophie more self-conscious and she searches for ways to procrastinate instead. Sophie finds a phone number on the back of a drawing that Jason bought at the animal shelter. She then calls this mysterious man and involves him in her life. Sophie is discovering she is wild like Paw-Paw.

Jason answers technology support calls from home. He desires to leave their apartment and to make a difference in the world until Paw-Paw is able to leave the shelter. Sophie turns off the Internet for the month as well, which would hinder Jason’s line of work. Jason is approached by a man who attempts to enlist his help to diminish the effects of global warming. Jason accepts the offer and becomes a door-to-door salesman to sell trees and spread knowledge about the changing climate. Many who answer the door are not receptive to any solicitation. Through a newspaper clipping, Jason finds an old man selling a hair dryer. This mysterious man is very talkative and teaches Jason about many things, including relationships. According to the stranger, Jason discovers his 4-year relationship with Sophie is only the middle of the beginning and rough times are to be expected in this stage.

While Sophie and Jason seem to fear the future, Paw-Paw longs for the day when he intends to leave the animal shelter with his rescuers. He had no name until Sophie and Jason called him Paw-Paw. The film begins with Paw-Paw asking the audience, “Have you ever been outside?” Only the audience can hear him as he goes on to explain he means more than being outside periodically. Paw-Paw has never been inside before until now and for the first time felt like he belonged when his rescuers pet him. This sensation was new to him and caused Paw-Paw to automatically purr. Paw-Paw waits for the day Sophie and Jason return. He trusts the humans to not let him down. Paw-Paw’s voice is filled with commentary about his life and optimistic longing for the future. His narration carries the most emotion throughout the movie. Personally, I could not watch any scene with Paw-Paw speaking without shedding a few tears because he is an innocent creature who only wants love and I felt myself hoping for the best possible future for the cat with a bloody paw.

“The Future” contains many elements of surrealism, which emphasizes the emotions and thoughts of the central characters. In addition to Paw-Paw explaining his feelings to the audience, Sophie and Jason have fantastical elements that are part of their lives as well. Sophie has a yellow shirt she has named Shirty. When Sophie strays away from Jason and her home, Shirty follows her. The audience sees a yellow object crawling across the street until it reaches Sophie. The shirt has a connection with Sophie; Sophie loves to dance and the shirt enables her to dance and be herself freely as if nobody is watching, not even herself. Jason says he has the ability to freeze time. Whether this ability is genuine or imaginary is unclear. Like how Sophie only sees her traveling shirt, Jason is the only one who can see himself freezing time. Jason wants to freeze time before Sophie reveals her wild escapades with the artist. While the clock is frozen in time, Jason has a conversation with the moon about the future. The moon also enlists Jason’s help with the tides, since Jason seems to have truly frozen time. What is really happening or what is in the minds of the central characters is sometimes blurry and can be simultaneously confusing and a beautiful moment.

Paw-Paw says he is, “waiting for my real life to begin.” Sophie and Jason are also waiting for their real life to begin when the day to rescue Paw-Paw approaches on their calendar. But when does real life really begin? When Paw-Paw is loved and inside for the first time? When Sophie and Jason adopt a cat? Perhaps real life already began when Paw-Paw lived outside and became injured or when Sophie and Jason met and started their life together. “The Future” is a somber introspective film that questions what the future entails. The surrealism transforms the film into a beautiful dreamlike experience, with Jason talking to the moon, Sophie dancing in her traveling shirt, and Paw-Paw letting his thoughts on life be known. Sophie and Jason want to do more in life and like many viewers, dread getting old as the future crawls nearer. Like I said before, Paw-Paw carries the most emotion for the film; at least my husband and I thought this to be the case. Cat lovers should be aware of the power of Paw-Paw and expect to have tissues handy because of his prominent and heartfelt words.