Survive (2024) – A Surreal, Visually Striking Family Survival Tale
Survive, directed by Frédéric Jardin, is a French-language science fiction survival film that unfolds like a haunting visual poem about a world undone by a bizarre environmental catastrophe. The story centers on a family—Julia, her husband Tom, their teenage son Ben, and daughter Cassie—who are yachting in the ocean when a violent storm erupts and reality shifts overnight. When the chaos clears, the family wakes up to find themselves stranded in a vast, dry desert where the oceans have mysteriously disappeared.
The film sets its tone early with striking imagery: beached sea creatures, cracked ocean floors, and a surreal emptiness where water once existed. The ocean's absence isn’t explained in scientific terms but instead functions as a metaphor for ecological collapse, isolation, and humanity’s severance from nature. As the family sets out across the newly formed wasteland in search of help and answers, the movie becomes a meditative journey through desolation, memory, and survival.
Throughout their journey, the family encounters otherworldly threats and dreamlike landscapes. At one point, they must fend off land-dwelling sea creatures such as mutated crabs, and in another scene, a lone, silent harpoon-wielding figure stalks them from afar. Each challenge forces the family to confront their limits—not just physically, but emotionally. Julia’s fierce maternal instinct drives much of the action, and her performance is a standout, marked by vulnerability and determination.
The film’s visuals are arguably its strongest asset. Shot in vast desert locations with minimal CGI, the cinematography captures the scale of the environmental devastation with haunting beauty. The wide, open landscapes emphasize the characters’ insignificance against the backdrop of planetary change. Long, quiet sequences and muted color palettes create a dreamlike tone, with sparse dialogue and ambient sound design further enhancing the atmosphere.
Despite its low budget, Survive achieves a high-concept aesthetic. The practical effects are used effectively, and the surreal imagery—such as hammerhead sharks flailing in dry riverbeds or mounds of discarded plastic waste rising like dunes—carries powerful environmental symbolism. The family dynamic offers a human heart to the film, grounding its strange visuals in familiar emotional stakes.
While the film’s ambition is admirable, some viewers may find its pacing uneven or its narrative thin. The lack of clear exposition and the dreamlike transitions between scenes may confuse those looking for a more traditional storyline. However, this ambiguity allows the movie to maintain an air of mystery, pushing viewers to reflect rather than simply observe.
In conclusion, Survive (2024) is not your typical post-apocalyptic thriller. It blends survival drama with experimental sci-fi, offering a slow-burning meditation on loss, resilience, and environmental reckoning. Though it may not satisfy all viewers with its sparse storytelling, its visual power, emotional core, and thought-provoking themes make it a memorable and distinctive entry in the genre.
