Radio Free Albemuth (film)
| Radio Free Albemuth | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | John Alan Simon |
| Produced by |
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| Screenplay by | John Alan Simon |
| Based on |
Radio Free Albemuth by Philip K. Dick |
| Starring | |
| Music by |
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| Cinematography |
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| Edited by | Phil Norden |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Freestyle Releasing |
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Release date
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June 27, 2014 (Limited/VOD) |
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Running time
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110 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $9,365 |
Radio Free Albemuth is a 2010 American film adaptation of the dystopian novel Radio Free Albemuth by author Philip K. Dick, which was written in 1976 and published posthumously in 1985. The film is written, directed, and produced by John Alan Simon and stars Jonathan Scarfe and Shea Whigham.
The story is set in an alternate reality America circa 1985 under the authoritarian control of President Fremont. It makes liberal references to the collected works of Philip K. Dick.
Berkeley record store clerk Nick Brady (Jonathan Scarfe) lives modestly with his wife Rachel (Katheryn Winnick) and their infant son. Nick has been experiencing strange visions and dreams. He confides in Rachel and his best friend, science-fiction writer Philip K. Dick (Shea Whigham). Nick calls the source of his visions VALIS (Vast Alien Living Intelligence System).
One recurring symbol that he has been seeing is an ichthys. While he and Phil sit at a table, an orbiting satellite shoots a pink laser directly into Nick's head. He rushes his son to the ER, convinced that he has an inguinal hernia. The skeptical doctor is stunned to find that Nick is right. Nick has subsequent visions that tell him that he should relocate to Los Angeles, where he lands a job at a record label.
Philip gets visited by two members of FAP (Friends of the American People). They press him for information about Nick's visions. The female FAP agent returns and sleeps with Philip. After their liaison, she pretends to be underage, hoping to coerce him into revealing what Nick is seeing from VALIS. Philip refuses to divulge anything about Nick.
Meanwhile, Nick has a dream where a woman (Alanis Morissette) is singing. During the dream, someone comments that there is something about her singing that seems subversive. Eventually, the woman turns up at Nick's record label, looking for a clerical job. She introduces herself as Sylvia, and Nick just assumes that she is a singer. Sylvia gradually reveals that she also receives visions from VALIS. She explains that there are several thousand people who receive transmissions from the orbiting satellite, and they are very loosely organized as a secret society.
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Wikipedia