Devon BirdsongBlade Runner is, to me, a series of philosophical questions encased in an atmosphere of celestial and technological tension. The synth evokes both mystery and mythos. There's a pervading sense of the unreal straining against a grounding pessimism. It succeeds as both science fiction and noir, and would qualify as one of the very best in either genre. I find something new in it every time I revisit it, because it is full of questioning, and longing, and longing is eternal. Nothing is ever really answered, and the film coercively recruits you into the act of drawing conclusions. But this film is not about conclusions. Or, at least, not enduring ones. Above all, it gives you the sense that human conclusions are like tears in rain. It's greatest trick is making the audience focus on finding answers -- on the idea that those answers really matter. I would call it bleak, but I think Blade Runner simply refuses consolation, and we have a tendency to confuse that with bleakness.
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