This film came out in 2008 and it's likely you missed it when it did.

It's a unique and cool story with two kids as the central characters. The basis is this.

It's a post-apocalyptic film. In the opening sequence you see scientists talking about the fact they can't return to the surface. They discuss WHEN can they go back, but they admit no one really knows. For the people forced to live underground they create a special box which you see them lay a note and some other thing in. They set it to lock for 200 years. They put it in the possession of the mayor of the underground city to pass down to their successors.

But fate, of course, had other plans. The box gets lost when a mayor dies without being able to pass the box on.

Title card.

EXT. CITY SQUARE.....

Some interesting cast in this film. Tim Robbins, a standout Martin Landau, and the immortal Bill Murray. The kids who carry this film do a really good job too. It really hinges on them since they're central to the entire story.

When the film starts we have no idea how many years have passed since the box was lost. The people who live in that city have forgotten life on the surface, and day to day life is reliant on a massive generator that powers the entire city. When we start the movie we see they're getting blackouts. They're getting worse and longer. It's feared the city may go black for good.

This was a really fascinating movie. With the government making fall out shelters, to perhaps theoretically even full scale underground cities, in the post nuclear age, this story may be plausible. It's told through the eyes of the kids which keeps things from being too serious(and Bill Murray). It would have been a different film if told through the eyes of any of the adults.

I'm going to watch this again. It's a surprisingly good film.