Live forever or die trying

Type of film: Action thriller/fantasy
Age restriction: Adults only
It has been clear to me for some time that Hollywood Is On the Move. Undoubtedly, movieland is determined not to fall behind or even remain static as our society its values and mores gallop in top gear into the 21st century.
The problem for Zimbabwe cinemagoers and it is a real problem is that out of all of Hollywood’s production we here see only the tiniest percentage. And of those few that we do see, we are not seeing them in the sequence in which they were produced. We are therefore unable to mark this movement as it unerringly takes step after step.
The seriously remarkable film “In Time,” made in 2011, takes us into an unspecified future. And, albeit we are clearly in the years yet to come, the technology in everyday use is strangely old fashioned.
Each person has the number of years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes and seconds left to him clearly glowing on his left forearm. For the purpose of purchasing, money is not used.
You spend a lifetime bartering and exchanging the time left to you  (as seen on your arm) for the things you want or need.
One result of this is that the wants of people take on a highly competitive aspect. You think very carefully about the things you (think you) want; you are trading time on this Earth for them.
As you board a bus you deposit (from the “time” account clearly shown on your arm) the sum it costs. One result, inevitably, is that people do not choose lightly as they certainly do in the world we currently inhabit their desires and interests.
The film is set in an unidentified major city in America. We don’t know the year vaguely in the future. Motorcars are “spiffy,” but not really in advance of ours.
But there are contradictions: people have cellphones but also use phones in telephone booths.
The most lethal weapon used is the pistol, the handgun.
If cleverly manipulated, you can live indefinitely long. We meet one man whose mother, wife and daughter appear to be the exact same age. Highly recommended — but stay alert.