From Canada comes this rather weak post-apocalyptic dystopian thriller – a drama written by a local filmmaker of Indian origin, Danis Goulet. “Night Raiders” premiered in Berlin, then at the biggest Canadian festival in Toronto, but it’s a story that doesn’t differ too much from other numerous dystopian reflections on the future. In addition to the fact that the native inhabitants are in the center of attention, more specifically mom Niska and her 13-year-old daughter. The year is 2044 and after a great civil war, North America is united, but all children must be sent to the Academy. Niska does not want to be separated from her daughter and apparently they have been hiding for a long time from the mysteriously militaristic apparently totalitarian regime that monitors the entire area with drones.
There is only a faint hint that there is some kind of virus that the authorities have released among the rebels, who will be joined by Niska once her daughter finishes at the Academy. It seems to me that this story is actually an attempt at a subversive allegory on the American Indians, their assimilation into white society and what actually happened to them, but all of this is performed quite weakly in “Night Raiders”. Although it is obvious that it is an independent film with a modest budget, the scenography and the environment are even the strongest assets of the film, but the story is quite predictable, obvious and it has all been seen before, and the acting performances are not at a special level either. I didn’t even think that this could be some hidden masterpiece, but I still expected something more.