Upside Down

Juan Solanas' Upside Down ( US, 2012) - You practically need an advanced degree in physics to fully comprehend the convoluted physical machinations depicted in Upside Down, Juan Solanas’ dizzyingly loopy sci-fi romance. Depicting the Romeo and Juliet-style romance between lovers from twin planets with opposite gravitational pulls, this head-scratcher boasts visual imagination to spare even as its logistical complexities and heavy-handed symbolism ultimately prove off-putting. The lovers -- none so subtly named Adam (Jim Sturgess) and Eden (Kirsten Dunst) -- first meet as children who manage to forge a spiritual connection even if they’re literally upside down from each other. Unfortunately, contact between the inhabitants of the two worlds is strictly forbidden by the dominant one, Up Top, which exploits the resources of its neighbor planet, Down Below. Connecting the two worlds is a massive tower owned by an exploitative megacorporation named -- what else? -- TransWorld. RATING: 5.