Edinburgh International Film Festival 2024: Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust, by Simon Read

Adapted from his short film of the same name, Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust, marks the feature debut of
talented graphic artist Ishan Shukla.

While there is a lot to admire in its innovatve craft and graphic design – it is a shame that the film falls
short when it comes to interesting characters, or original plot. Much has been made in the festival
brouchure about how the film incorporates similar technology with contemporary video game cut scenes.
Remind me the last time that turned out well.

While the intention is certainly there to spin a dream-like dystopian yarn, in which all citizens of Neo
Tokyo (or wherever) must wear common paper bags over their heads, with little holes cut out for the eyes
(I’m not making this up) and a downupside frown mouth hole, dependending on the wearer’s mood. I
immediately wondered how often they changed bags – and are they machine washable? Each bag is
branded with the citizen’s personal number, and this apparently cultivates a city state of absolute equality.
‘Cause that always works.

Our hero, basically Edward Norton from Fight Club, meets sexy and dangerous (dangerously sexy?)
resistence fighter, named ‘Lies’, (Lara Croft) who has been appearing to him in sweaty visions and
dreams. She seduces our besuited, young, white-bread protagonist with tales of towns and villages
where, gasp, people don’t have to wear bags on their heads – and here there is a little pearl of
Cronenbergian erotcism, when they finally remove their bags and see one another’s ‘naked’ faces for the
first time – all within the cosy confines of a love motel, no less. I’m being magnanimous bringing up old
David C., but it’s a splendidly weird moment, in a film which which brings up many of the same questions
and philosophies of his more outré sci-fi films.

I found myself nodding off during the movie. There are enough creative touches and funny, idiosyncratic
gags to keep ones’ attention, but there’s no escape from the fact that we’re watching fully CGI
characters, interacting in a fake environment. With perfunctory dialogue – “We have to help them. Hurray,
this way!” – and with that jerky, non-fluid movement of characters in video game cut-scenes, the film can’t
escape its uncanny vally, one that leads the viewer to a world of disinterest. What worked so perfectly in
A Scanner Darkly, here seems shonky and unconvincing by comparison. Not even an Alex Jones
cameo could have saved the cruise-control feel of the narrative, and it’s surprising how little has changed
in CGI feature film-making since Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.

I couldn’t really tell you anything about our hero, ‘197-A’, besides his being handsome underneath that
bag – which is something I guess. While Shulka’s visuals are impressive, and individual moments and
ideas do stand out, they belong in better films. With obvious nods to Perfect Blue and Ghost in the Shell,
Schirkoa struggles to make much of an impression of its own.

Historical statues in this strange city also have their heads bagged, so even founding fathers and famous intellectuals, immortalised in stone and marble, are reduced to undignified and anonymous, faceless non-
people. I liked that touch. When we do see the government of the city state in action, their words are completely meaningless gibberish – just word salad to fill the silence, and this idea is scary enough, but
for the fact that they are deliberating cultivating mutant ‘anomalies’ to frighten the population into
submission. We must wear these bags lest we become like the creatures that threaten the city! It’s a solid
enough premise for a sci-fi, that sadly never quite takes flight.

After the film finished, I realised that I couldn’t remember any of the dialogue – it was that empty. I am not
a particularly big fan of Pixar, and have only a passing interest in Studio Ghibli, (and animation generally)
but those two stables incontravertibly balance impressive visuals with memorable storytelling and
dialogue. When we remove Shulka’s beautiful cityscape, his visual buffet of Brazil, Blade Runner and
Akira, we’re left with a film about a rebellion involving people who wear bags on their heads, and very
little else.

I certainly look forward to seeing whatever Shulka does next – but perhaps collaborating with another
writer (not of the Zack Snyder variety) would help create the cinematic chemistry this film lacks. Beauty
and brains, just like our heroine ‘Lies’, in whom we trust. But until then, paper or plastic?