Memory, spirituality, and technology fuse in the new sci-fi thriller KARMALINK. Writer-director Jake Wachtel‘s impressive debut feature follows a young boy on the outskirts of a dystopian future haunted by recurring dreams of past lives, only to be thrown into a mysterious search for treasure and truth. Utilizing the efforts of primarily newcomers to the global cinema scene, Watchel and co-writer Christopher Larsen build a textured mystery within the  Cambodian culture that is at once bracing and fascinating. The film struggles with pacing issues, a wealth of exposition, and a lack of actual suspense but its rich world-building and characters are able to pick up some of the slack.

In this not-too-distant Cambodian future, the elite has gentrified Phnom Penh with sleek buildings and innovative technology while pushing the less privileged further from the epicenter of civilization.  KARMALINK opens on a young boy named Leng Heng (Leng Heng Prak) who lives in the slums just outside of the modernized city. Leng entertains his group of friends by recounting the dreams he has of his past lives in which his various incarnations have been hiding treasure. Meanwhile, a young girl by the name of Srey Leak (Srey Leak Chhith) makes her living trading and hustling tech parts. All of this as society has adopted a sort of mental internet known as “Augmentation”. Srey learns of Leng’s possible fortune and demands to join the hunt for Leng’s treasures. That’s not to mention the noble, but oddly magnanimous Dr. Sophia (Cindy Sirinya Bishop) who visits Leng’s home to care for his aging grandmother’s fading memory.

Larsen and Wachtel‘s script is dense with plot and metaphor. We have the story of Leng and his past lives, which intersects with the story of his treasure hunt with Srey and his friends, and we have the subplot of Leng’s aging grandmother, along with the commentary on what happens to society’s less privileged in a time of growth. That’s not to say anything about the quantification of karmic existence through technology. KARMALINK is a fine example of science fiction that proves the genre’s universal appeal. Human existence is plagued with the struggle to understand the world around them be it through science or religion. Leng and Srey chase the intrusive dreams of fortune while Dr. Sophia and Dr. Vattanak (Sahajak Boonthanakit) develop a far more sinister method of documentation. The end result is a muddled, but admirable, essay on humankind’s pursuit of discovery and truth, not to mention equity.

The film looks amazing. Production Designer Olga Myasnikova forges a world that captures Cambodia’s dichotomic existence of ruins and squalor against a plasticine vision of the future. That’s not to mention the visual effects that marry the fantastic ideas with a grounded visual palette. KARMALINK is Cambodia’s answer to District 9. This is a film about disadvantaged outsiders that find their own power. It’s not perfect, yet it’s profoundly entertaining.

6 out of 10 Shots to the neck