TIDES: Post-apocalyptic sci-fi inspired by “Waterworld”

Tides, though technically well-executed, brings nothing new to the post-apocalyptic science fiction genre—and, truth be told, doesn’t offer much in the way of science either.

In an unspecified future, wars, pandemics, and climate change result in a global catastrophe that nearly leads to the extinction of life on Earth. A handful of the wealthiest individuals escape to a space colony located in the Kepler-209 planetary system in the Lyra constellation. Several generations later, it becomes apparent that radiation on the alien planet has rendered the entire population infertile. As a result, the colonists send a group of astronauts back to Earth on a mission to investigate whether the planet is suitable for life and reproduction. The first expedition ends in failure, contact with the crew is lost, and its members are presumed dead. During the second mission, a lander malfunctions: the commander is killed, the mortally wounded deputy commits suicide, and the sole survivor, Blake, is captured by the Mudders—natives inhabiting a muddy plain shrouded in dense fog and prone to tidal floods. However, another tribe in the vicinity might have a connection to the first group of colonists.

Swiss screenwriter and director Tim Fehlbaum, who worked as a cinematographer and created short films and music videos during his studies at the Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film München, gained recognition with the post-apocalyptic thriller Hell (2011). The film won several awards and nominations at film festivals worldwide (including at Plus Camerimage in Bydgoszcz, where Markus Förderer was nominated for the Debut Cinematography Competition). Fehlbaum appears to feel comfortable in this genre, as he revisits it in his second feature-length film, the English-language Tides. His film fits into the current trend of independent European science fiction cinema addressing ecological issues. Other films in this category include the Danish Qeda (2017) by Max Kestner, the Swedish-Danish Aniara (2018) by Pella Kågerman and Hugo Lilja, and the Lithuanian-French-Belgian Vesper (2022) by Kristina Buožytė and Bruno Samper.

It seems that Fehlbaum’s main inspiration was Waterworld (1995) by Kevin Reynolds, itself heavily influenced by George Miller’s Mad Max (1979). This connection is evident in the ubiquitous water motif on a submerged planet and the antagonist’s headquarters in a graveyard of shipwrecks, reminiscent of the Deacon’s gang’s lair in Waterworld. However, Tides is a much darker film than its underappreciated predecessor (which gained some redemption through the Ulysses Cut director’s version). In Tides, sunlight rarely shines, and even then, it struggles to pierce through thick fog. The remnants of humanity fare far worse than the inhabitants of Reynolds’ atolls, and the protagonist is just an ordinary person—not a human-fish hybrid with gills behind her ears and webbed toes, like the Mariner.

Still, Tides is neither as spectacular nor as entertaining as Waterworld. It doesn’t provoke reflection like Aniara, nor does it dazzle like Vesper. The German-Swiss film is built from a plethora of clichés: a global catastrophe, a lone heroine in an unfamiliar world, a one-dimensional villain with tyrannical tendencies, a friendly child, and a group of primitive yet noble savages. The creators did not deviate even slightly from these tropes, leaving the characters flat, the action tedious, and the plot predictable. Ultimately, the final nail in Tides’ coffin is the total lack of logic and coherence in its world-building—even with the suspension of disbelief typically granted to such films. The premise itself is absurd: if the colonists on Kepler mastered interstellar travel, returning to a devastated Earth makes no sense whatsoever. Unfortunately, neither does this tiresome, formulaic film.