Cargo
A cargo-ship doctor uncovers a disturbing secret while crossing an abandoned Earth’s orbit-bound future.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- brooding
- paranoid
- claustrophobic
- late night science fiction
- immersive movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly recognized Cargo as an ambitious European science-fiction thriller with strong production design but an uneven, familiar story.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Laura works an eight-year cargo mission to earn enough money to reunite with her sister in the wealthy colony of Rhea, contrasting orbital life with elite migration.
The crew investigates a suspected stowaway and gradually questions the nature and destination of the Kassandra’s cargo.
The story unfolds primarily aboard a cargo ship and orbital stations, using cryogenic chambers, cargo compartments, and deep space as sources of unease.
Messages between Laura and Arianne take years to arrive, while crew members spend most of the journey in cryogenic sleep.
Films like Cargo, and why
Solaris
shared claustrophobic space setting, philosophical science fiction, and mystery-driven isolation
Pandorum
shared dystopian science fiction, oppressive institutions, and tense investigation aboard a confined spacecraft
Alien
shared cargo-ship setting, extraterrestrial mystery, and survival thriller atmosphere
Elysium
shared far-future social stratification, space-colony worldbuilding, and conspiracy-focused science fiction
Movie Details
- Directors
- Ivan Engler, Ralph Etter
- Release Date
- 2009-09-24
- Runtime
- 120 min
- Rating
- 5.9 / 10 (458)
Cast
- Martin Rapold
- Anna-Katharina Schwabroh
- Regula Grauwiller
- Yangzom Brauen
- Michael Finger
- Claude-Oliver Rudolph
- Pierre Semmler
- Noa Strupler
- Maria Boettner
- Gilles Tschudi
Common questions
- What is Cargo about?
- A cargo-ship doctor uncovers a disturbing secret while crossing an abandoned Earth’s orbit-bound future.
- What is Cargo like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Cargo as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Cargo violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Cargo as moderate.
- What did critics think of Cargo?
- Critics broadly recognized Cargo as an ambitious European science-fiction thriller with strong production design but an uneven, familiar story.
- Which films are like Cargo?
- Films with a similar feel include Solaris, Pandorum, Alien, and Elysium.
- How long is Cargo?
- Cargo runs 120 minutes.
