Why I have been thinking about Total Recall (1990).

This is one example of the attention to detail in Total Recall. Here we see the two moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos (Image courtesy of scifi.stackexchange.com)

I have been thinking about Total Recall (1990)-- starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and directed by the great Paul Verhoeven--  a lot recently and its place among the greats of sci-fi. When some critics and regular movie goers mention the great sci-fi films the typical films are mentioned such as Star Wars,  Blade Runner, Alien, Aliens, 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Matrix. After recently watching Total Recall  a couple of times  I now hold the opinion that it should be spoken of when one considers the other great sci-fi films. Technically and philosophically it may not be as profound as Blade Runner or 2001… or as groundbreaking in terms of action like The Matrix but it certainly represents the bridge or the link between the great sci-fi films such as Blade Runner and the more modern ones such as The Matrix. Jonathan Rosenbaum, from the Chicago Reader, rightly states that the film found its own niche in the dystopian concept that was developed for Blade Runner. This made Total Recall less derivative and superficial than the immediate successors to Blade Runner. Just like Blade Runner,  Total Recall was based on a novel by Philip K. Dick. If one were to use the strict criteria for greatness then Total Recall won’t fit the bill for a lot of people but appearances might be deceiving because the film moves forward at a high pace and barely stops for breath. A lot of its unique qualities can be missed and it would be easy for some people to dismiss it and call it just a very good action film. All of its more important contributions to sci-fi, however, are quite clear in the moments when it takes a breather from all the gunfire. As I will briefly highlight there is a reason why this film was an important stepping stone in sci-fi and this is due not just to the special effects and make up but to the thematic elements that had a significant impact on the sci-fi films that succeeded it.

Firstly, Total Recall is great because it makes one of the first serious attempts to question the nature of reality. The scene when the doctor appears at Quaid’s (Arnold) room door at the Hilton hotel in  Mars to try and convince him that he is living out his fantasy strapped to a chair in the company called Recall is very influential. He offers Quaid a red pill to swallow as it is a  symbol of his desire to return to reality. A red pill? What does that remind you of? Of course, that moment in The Matrix when Morpheus gives Neo  a choice between the red pill and the blue pill. If Neo takes the blue pill he stays in the matrix but if he takes the red pill it will make it easier for Morpheus to track him and release his body and mind from the fantasy that is the matrix. If only he took the blue pill. In Total Recall it is a more meaningless gesture or a symbol. It was probably just a pill to put him into a deep sleep in order for the agency to start over with Quaid by having him forget the recent events.

There are also a lot of questions to be asked regarding the role played by Hauser the man who the agency brainwashed into thinking that he was Douglas Quaid. Was it an elaborate ruse? Who is the true individual, Hauser or Quaid? As Kuato said ‘You are what you do.’ When Mars is freed from bondage Quaid has a terrible thought that he is dreaming. Melina sets him straight by saying ‘Kiss me before you wake up.’  Sort of reminds me of the ending for Inception (2010). With all that went on before you do have to wonder if Quaid really was dreaming all along or just acting out his ego trip, strapped to a chair in Recall. This film does find a way to make you question the reality of the situation and that is a major achievement. The scene with Quaid, his fake wife Lori and the doctor in a hotel on Mars is a scene that truly gets you thinking when you watch it for the first time.  In fact it all starts when Quaid decides to go to Recall and experience Mars as a dream and ego trip and becomes the basis for his reality to be questioned. This film really does play with the idea that things are not what they seem. It just  goes to show how effective the villain, Cohagen, was in keeping Quaid in a sort of mental bondage. Quaid’s life was thrown into so much turmoil that when he does get a taste of freedom he has to wonder if he is dreaming or not.  We know Quaid isn’t dreaming because the perspective and motivation of the other characters in the film is quite clear. Quaid couldn’t imagine all of that. The film does make you think just like Blade Runner did when you questioned whether or not Deckard was a replicant. Total Recall goes one step further by making this an explicit element in the film. It’s not as subtle as Blade Runner but more practical as this element drives the story onwards. Probably because it’s not as subtle this film does not appear as profound but its explicit nature does make it profound. ‘Open your mind to me.’

Secondly, the colonization of Mars is another great element in Total Recall. In films like Blade Runner we are made aware of the colonies established by America on other planets but we never actually see how they operate. The replicants that escaped from the planetary colonies to earth paint a tale of massive exploitation and degradation akin to slave labour. Obviously that was not the focus of Blade Runner and it was enough that they mentioned that there were planetary colonies. These planetary colonies were valuable as a result of the wealth of raw materials available for extraction. This is the case when most colonies are formed. They are established as a means to extract whatever resources are available for the benefit of the colonizers. Little attention is paid to developing colonies internally as they only serve a particular purpose that involves raw material extraction. In Total Recall the fundamentals established in Blade Runner also apply but in this case we actually witness how a planetary colony operates. In this case the planet that is colonized is Mars and the raw material that is extracted and forms the basis for rudimentary development of the colony is Turbinium. We know the  extraction of turbinium is important for the Mars colonization project although it’s not clear what  for  exactly. It’s just a fictional element that will make colonization justifiable in the film. The great reactor built by aliens is also made of turbinium. So I am guessing that it’s a very strong metal and probably laid the foundation for the construction of infrastructure on Mars.

The extreme degradation suffered by the working class groups that mine the precious metal is evident when Quaid, Melina and the traitor Benny are trying to escape from Cohagen’s armed forces. While fleeing through the underground caves they stumble upon the graves of the first or early settlers on Mars. These settlers worked themselves to death for peanuts while Cohagen made all the profits on the back of their labour power.  The operational capacity of the Mars colony is structured around the extraction of the Turbinium metal ore.  Domes are established in order to keep out the elements that can cause significant harm to humans. This is made evident in the film when several individuals exposed to the environment experience literal eye popping moments. A lot of activities on the Mars colony take place underground which makes people further removed from the atmosphere.  The atmosphere is red and this provides a significant visual context for the film and affects how we perceive the colony.  We all know Lori hates the dry, ugly planet of Mars.

There is also the  creation of a class of mutants in the Mars colony. The mutants, being a product of the Mars colony, are some of its core settlers and comprise a large portion of the resistance movement that challenges Cohagen’s rule.  The addition of this mutant element is significant and makes the colonization effort seem more believable in the film. These mutants are grotesque for the most part (apart from the 3 breasted woman) and it is made clear that the creation of this class of mutants was as a result of the cheap domes that allowed some of the harmful elements in the atmosphere to filter through. The primary positive that comes with the creation of this mutant class is the group of psychics. The psychics are all mutants including the leader Kuato, ‘open your mind to me’.  Kuato is a very powerful psychic.

The colonization effort on Mars is run by the villainous Cohagen who maintains a tight grip on the operations of the Martian colony especially the flow of turbinium and air. He is challenged by the rebels that are largely made up of mutants and who want to see Mars freed from his tyranny.  Quaid becomes important because he has a secret stored away about the alien reactor found in the pyramid mine. It’s not clear if the pyramid mine is located in the great mountain of Mars, Olympus Mons.  It is clear that as Hauser Quaid was probably sympathetic to the rebel cause  because of his love for Melina, a member of the resistance who is not a mutant (It would have been very interesting and risky but probably more rewarding if Melina was a mutant).  Hauser’s sympathy for the resistance was probably the main reason  why the decision was taken to turn him into Quaid.  This part of the film is not really clear and is a topic for another discussion. While riding on a train on his “first” visit to Mars, however, Quaid speaks to a man who said that he used to work in the pyramid mine before they closed it down. He said they closed it down after they found that ‘alien shit’ inside.  It has now become a rumour but in reality access has been sealed off. The reactor was designed and constructed by aliens to melt the core of Mars which Is made up largely of ice. When this core melts then it will generate the necessary oxygen and other elements that will make it possible for the creation of an atmosphere that would make life hospitable on Mars. An atmosphere just like the one on earth.  With an atmosphere Cohagen would lose control because he can no longer control the flow of air. Air is a precious commodity on Mars; just like turbinium.

This alien reactor adds to the mystery of Mars. Why did they build it? Why didn’t the aliens turn it on? Did they build it just for us? Why did they leave the planet to go elsewhere? It is made clear that the structure is around  a  million years old. So maybe the aliens did use it but the core of ice built up again after they left. This mystery of the aliens is a very influential concept. In Interstellar (2014) some mysterious beings created a wormhole for human space explorers. This wormhole creates  a shortcut through space so that human explorers can  travel to other galaxies. Regular space travel to other galaxies is significantly much slower and somewhat implausible in our present context  when you consider that the closest galaxy is trillions of miles away.  The concept about great beings leaving behind these great structures for the benefit of humans was developed significantly in Total Recall.  Long before films like Interstellar.

When Quaid does turn on the reactor he frees Mars. This is significant when you consider that by freeing Mars the entire structure and mode of operations for Mars will be expanded. The flow of humans to Mars will expand the scope for development and the planet would slowly  lose the label that it is primarily a colony. Colonies thrive, and so eventually lose their tag, once the internal structures are developed along with the local market in order to make it a place of more permanent settlement. It loses the colonial makeup when its resources are utilized fully for its own development and not simply for the benefit of the colonizers that just want to extract raw materials with minimal investment in the local economic base.  The colonial economy is replaced by one where development of the economy is a priority in order to make it a place where people will want to settle on a more permanent basis. When people do decide to permanently settle somewhere then certain material conditions such as infrastructure, economic opportunities etc, have to be met. Colonies normally meet the basic requirements for some form of rudimentary settlement. This rudimentary settlement is geared towards the extraction of the colony’s resources and not its full scale development. Full scale development is normally the priority  in more settled and developed civilizations ‘No one on earth cares about what goes on up here.’ Cohagen never intended to develop Mars beyond the areas that required basic development in order for the turbinium to be extracted. The shackles of the colonial economy are removed  when all areas are developed in order to facilitate the growth of a citizenry or a group of people committed to settling in the area on a more permanent basis. In order for this to be achieved the resources (capital and labour) at the disposal of the colony have to be utilized in order to increase the production and circulation of commodities and to develop the local markets. A developed local market is one where capital investment and per capita incomes are high (people being sufficiently rewarded for the utilization of their labour). In other words a lot of people in the market have money that they are willing to spend on a wide range of products and services. There is also the development of a cultural base that encourages a sense of kinship among the citizenry. In the case of Mars this kinship is created by the cultural exchange between mutants and the human settlers. This encourages cooperation and the creation of a culture unique to Mars. Cohagen clearly does not care much for the plight of the working class groups which includes the mutants. It’s not clear how Mars develops once an atmosphere is created. It would certainly encourage a lot of investment and an increase in the population.

Another  reason why the Mars colony in Total Recall is a significant feature in sci-fi filmdom is that it puts our own solar system at the forefront. Our solar system should be used more as a source of imaginative undertakings for filmmakers. Only Mars and Saturn are really highlighted.  Too often in sci-fi films people travel to other galaxies to get some action or the beings from other galaxies come to us. In 2001… a trip is made to Jupiter and this makes for some interesting discoveries but these discoveries don’t have much to do with what we know about Jupiter. In Total Recall a significant effort is made to pay attention to the details of the planet that was known from the telescopic and satellite images at the time. In the film we see images of the valleys,  the mountains and the moons that actually exist. Obviously some liberty was taken in order to create the structure of the fictional colony. One can actually have a great sci-fi film without traveling to another galaxy. I am sure the alien element in Total Recall was added to keep up with the trend showcasing beings from other galaxies but the good thing is that the aliens are not present. It is up to the human settlers on Mars to make a difference. The principles of freedom vs. tyranny are fought on a more realistic basis regardless of the great alien artifact.

The attention to detail in Total Recall makes it the best sci-fi film about Mars. This film deserves its place among the greats of sci-fi for this reason alone. Other films about Mars that succeeded it like Red Planet and Mission to Mars were duds.  What made Total Recall such a success was that it didn’t approach Mars as this mysterious planet but one that was already colonized. The mysteries are there but with the planet already  colonized it  laid the basis for this colony to be freed from bondage. Not a mystery about a dead planet but how this mystery will benefit those already settled in the area and not a group of explorers that will be stunned by the magnificence of the mysteries at the core of the dead planet. There is a sense of urgency in Total Recall to free Mars from Cohagen’s iron fisted grip in order to repay the settlers that lived, died and fought for a better tomorrow. In the end it is rewarding when the reactor is turned on and an atmosphere is created. While the people benefit from the free air created when the reactor melts the ice at Mar’s core the planet is no longer considered a dead one. This is why Mars as a character is so well developed in this film. Before Quaid turns on the  reactor  the atmosphere of Mars was toxic and weak and the frozen core suggested that it can never be more than just a colony. When the reactor is finally turned on the dead planet is now reborn. No wonder Quaid thinks it’s just like a dream.

Well I will stop here but there might be a part 2 because I have been thinking about why this film is great. So far I have demonstrated that Total Recall is a very influential film that bridged the gap between the existential and meditative films like Blade Runner and 2001… and the more technically advanced ones like The Matrix, Inception, Interstellar etc. It existed primarily in the dystopic tradition developed by  Blade Runner but it created its own niche as a film about a quest for the freedom of a dead, colonized planet. It’s almost like a dream.