https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S09DTtxL-Hs

A groundbreaking system now allows people to sell years of their life in exchange for money. With 10 years worth $1 million, many see it as an easy way to escape poverty, while others fear the true cost of trading time for wealth.

‘SPOILER ALERT’

The movie begins with a woman walking along a shore, and a voice begins explaining about a biotech firm called Aeon.

Aeon has developed a technology that transfers years from one person’s life to another. The woman encourages people to donate years from their lives so they can afford to live a luxurious lifestyle.

Elsewhere, an employee of Aeon, a man named Max, is talking to a boy about this. Max wants the boy to donate 15 years, but the boy hesitates because 15 years is a lot.

The boy mentions that he’s only 18 years old, and donating 15 years seems excessive. He considers donating just five. Max continues to convince him, saying that if he donates 15 years, he’ll get paid 700,000 euros.

This startles the boy’s parents. Max keeps persuading the boy, saying that if he does this, he can help his family and get them out of the country legally.

The boy hesitates again, so Max tells him about the time he donated five years and used the money to pay for university, but Max insists he wants what’s best for the boy.

The boy finally asks what he should tell his girlfriend. Max jokes about marrying her, and the boy laughs and signs the papers.

After this, Max leaves the place and walks through a crowded street. He calls and talks to a woman before getting on a train to return to the Aeon headquarters.

As he approaches the building, a group of protesters with banners waits outside. He puts on a raincoat and walks past them as they throw fruit at him, but he ignores them and goes inside.

He meets a woman who escorts him to the elevator. Inside, he tells her he brought in 15 years, bragging about his success. The woman teases him, saying he’s just showing off, and they head to a show.

Max sits in the audience, but shortly after, his name is called, and he goes up to the stage. He is given an award for being the best agent.

He thanks everyone for the award and stands alongside others on the stage. The CEO of Aeon, Sophie, is then called up. She thanks Max for his achievements before beginning a speech.

She talks about how Aeon is revolutionary and how much it helps people, despite the controversy surrounding it. She emphasizes that Aeon works for the betterment of mankind.

At an Aeon hospital, patients sit and wait for the procedure to begin. A woman who has undergone the procedure talks about how great she feels now, even starting to walk again.

Suddenly, a person disguised as staff gets up and begins shooting at everyone. Panic erupts as people try to flee, but many are killed. After the shooting, the attacker leaves a large A symbol on the wall, marking it as the work of a group called Adam, which opposes Aeon.

Sophie and her security team gather and watch a speech made by the leader of Adam, a woman named Lilith.

She declares that anyone stealing other people’s lives will be killed, taking full responsibility for the hospital attack. Sophie and her team discuss possible solutions but cannot come up with any because the group’s location is unknown.

Elsewhere, Max’s wife, Elena, is working on the streets. When she comes home, Max surprises her with a dinner he prepared.

During the meal, they talk about their future, and Max mentions buying a lake house. They continue discussing their plans for the future.

Later, Max and Elena visit Elena’s parents. After greetings, Elena’s mother complains that her father has started smoking again, even though he tries to hide it.

Elena confronts him, but he defends himself, saying it doesn’t matter because someone younger and healthier than him recently died in a heart attack.

They dismiss his logic and joke about it. The conversation then shifts to Max, and Elena’s father begins criticizing his work, accusing him of stealing other people’s lives for the rich. Max tries to defend his job, but the argument escalates until Elena intervenes to stop it.

On their way back home, Elena mentions how her father hasn’t received his insurance payout. Max argues that her father doesn’t maintain a healthy lifestyle, so it makes sense for the insurance company to deny him.

He adds that Elena should defend him when her father criticizes his work because, while Aeon might not be perfect, her father isn’t entirely right either.

When they reach home, they see their building on fire and realize it’s their apartment. They are shocked, but Max reassures Elena, saying the insurance company will handle it.

However, when they visit the insurance company, they are told the fire was caused by an open flame, likely a candle, and thus considered negligence, not an accident. The insurance won’t cover the cost, and the bank demands payment for the mortgage, which is 2.5 million euros.

Max, confused, asks what the collateral for the loan is. The insurance representative asks Elena if she hasn’t told Max yet.

Elena reveals she used her lifetime as collateral. Max is shocked and insists on offering his lifetime instead, but it’s not enough. He is horrified to learn that 2.5 million euros translates to 40 years of Elena’s life.

Elena sits numbly, trying to process what she’s hearing. She asks if there’s anything they can do, but the finance officer tells her there’s no option.

Max and Elena leave the office, but as they are walking, a police officer approaches and informs them that Elena must come with him because she has a payment to make.

Max tries to resist, but the officer insists, so Elena goes to them. Max reassures her that they will fix it.

After this, Max goes to Aeon to speak with Sophie about the situation. He tells her he will pay for it by working but insists he cannot let his wife lose 40 years of her life.

Sophie asks him to send his documentation, and she’ll see what she can do. He thanks her before their conversation ends.

After speaking with Max, Sophie attends a meeting with other shareholders. They discuss financial issues at Aeon, particularly the high costs of research and DNA compatibility screening.

The shareholders express frustration over how resource consuming and ineffective the process is, given that only a small percentage of the population qualifies as recipients. Sophie defends the importance of the process despite the concerns about profitability.

Meanwhile, Max sits in his car as his lawyer arrives and tells him it’s time to go inside. He tells her that Sophie is going to help, but his lawyer reveals that Sophie isn’t responding to her calls.

They head into the hospital together, and Max asks to see Elena, but his request is denied. He insists, but the staff refuses. Frustrated, Max yells about how they’re taking 40 years of his wife’s life and won’t even let him see her, but it’s no use.

Determined, Max decides to go inside without permission. He runs to find Elena but is stopped by Sophie’s security team, Kaya.

He sits in the waiting area, looking at Sophie in an interview, praising Aeon’s work. Meanwhile, Elena is prepared for the procedure, sitting in a chair and watching a calming beach scene on the screen.

The screen changes, and Aeon staff begin explaining the process. When the medical team enters, Elena panics and begs them not to go through with it, but her pleas are ignored. She is injected and loses consciousness as the procedure begins.

Afterward, Max takes Elena home. She stays silent, mourning alone in bed. Later that night, unable to sleep, she looks in the mirror, noticing the changes to her appearance.

She begins having nightmares and shakes, seeing herself growing older. Max tries to comfort her, but her condition worsens.

One day, Max receives a call from Aeon and goes to the office. He learns that his proposal to help was denied.

Frustrated, he tells the staff that he won’t work for Aeon anymore. Leaving the office, he sees Sophie in the elevator and confronts her, asking why she didn’t help him as promised. He tells her that his wife is now aging rapidly due to the procedure. Sophie looks at him briefly but ignores him, entering her car. Max notices she appears much younger than before.

Back home, Elena, now visibly older, looks in the mirror. When Max returns, he asks if she’s okay. The next day, Elena tries to make herself look younger.

Max hugs her from behind and tells her he loves her, but when she sees their reflection, she notices the difference in their appearances. She tells him this isn’t going to work.

Max insists that he loves her and doesn’t care about her appearance, but she believes he’s saying all this out of pity. She asks him to leave her alone.

He tries to comfort her, but she insists he go, so he leaves. Outside, Max sits on a bench, trying to figure out what to do next. A kid approaches him, offering drugs, but Max refuses.

Meanwhile, Elena is taken to the hospital after experiencing severe abdominal pain. The doctor explains that donating 40 years of life so abruptly was reckless and informs her that she had a miscarriage. Max is devastated by the news but feels powerless.

Elena decides to go to her parents’ house. While driving her there, Max tells her she belongs with him, not her parents.

Elena responds that it’s not just about her appearance—it’s about the life they can’t share anymore.

They can’t have kids or do the things they planned together, and Max still has his whole life ahead of him. When they arrive, she gets out of the car, and her parents come to her, crying at the sight of her changed appearance.

Max follows her, but Elena tells him he doesn’t need to come in. She hugs him goodbye as she walks toward her parents.

Max calls out, saying the procedure can be reversed if he finds the recipient of her years. However, Elena’s father sarcastically tells him everything was legal and the system cannot be wrong.

Defeated, Max returns to his car and later sits on the same bench from before. This time, he approaches the drug dealer he saw earlier.

He sees that she is smoking cigarettes, and he tells her it is not good for her growth. He then tells her that Aeon didn’t give her that baby appearance and asks how she got it done. The dealer looks at him suspiciously.

After their conversation, Max gets in his car and drives while listening to a set of instructions. He  discovers that there is an underground network in Lithuania. This group is known for performing age-transplant surgeries illegally.

Max listens to the detailed instructions over a call. He is told to retrieve a burner phone and fake passports before starting anything.

On top of that, in order to reverse Elena’s condition like he wants to, he needs to find the person who had taken her years. After hearing this, Max moved into a hotel to start his plan.

After this, Max starts tracking Sophie’s movements. He thinks that she is the one who had taken Elena’s years because she was much younger last time he saw her.

Max keeps following and stalking her and finally one day he sees her standing by a cemetery all alone. Her security team is nowhere to be seen.

So Max decides to take action and puts on a mask before approaching her. Sophie, now completely young, turns and looks at him.

She gets shocked and attempts to flee but Max catches her. Sophie tries to fight him off of her but Max is too strong so he manages to overpower her.

He tases Sophie with his taser and she gets unconscious. He then draws a large A in paint on the nearest grave to get the suspicion off of him and direct it to the Adam group.

Since they are always involved in these series of crimes, that has something to do with Aeon. After feeling satisfied that he had disguised this well enough, he disappears into the night with Sophie.

Elena is working in the hospital and even her colleagues notice that she gets tired quickly. After her colleague left, Max comes from behind. He asks her to go with him.

Elena, who is clearly wary, agrees after he begs her to trust him. She follows him to an abandoned building, where he leads her to a place where Sophie, who’s tied up, is being held.

Meanwhile, at the cemetery, Sophie’s security team, Kaya and Nowak arrive to investigate the strange incident.

Nowak goes over the security footage, piecing together what happened and identifying the vehicle Max used.

Even though the car and supplies were all ordered from fake accounts, Nowak’s detailed investigation eventually leads him to a connection with Max’s real account.

Nowak, convinced of Max’s involvement, suggests alerting the authorities, but Kaya refuses, determined to resolve things on her terms.

Back with Max and Elena, they are arguing about their next step. He insists that they should get out of Germany as soon as possible.

Elena assumes that he has lost his mind, but Max insists that this is the only way to make up for what was done to Elena.

He appeals to Elena’s longing for the future in life to make up their families. He then asks if she is going to let him go to  prison for this woman or if she would go along with his plan. Elena looks at him and starts to hesitate.

Kaya and Nowak arrive at the abandoned building along with the other security team. But by the time they get inside, Max and Elena have already escaped.

Inside their car, Max shows her their fake passports. As Max and Elena head toward the harbor, Kaya and Nowak coordinate a larger operation.

Kaya tells Nowak that they are not criminals and just two people who are too desperate. Nowak tells Kaya about how Max and Elena first met. Max was assigned as her donation manager during her age-transplant process.

Shortly after that, their relationship turned into a romance that led to marriage. Despite pursuing them, Nowak admits he understands the desperation people feel in a system like theirs.

Kaya dismisses his sympathy, revealing that she is sixty-four years old and maintains her youthful appearance for her job and out of gratitude to Sophie, who once helped her greatly.

At the dock, Max and Elena manage to board a ship bound for Lithuania. Elena tells Max that she had lost hope in everything before he comes and tells her that there is hope.

Max also checks on Sophie, who is in a cargo box with a bathtub. He goes to her to give her food and water.

Later that evening, Max and Elena sit together in a restaurant, watching a nearby family. Elena smiles at them, thinking of the time she also would be a mother.

Suddenly the family’s young boy notices strange lights near the shore. Alarmed, Max and Elena step outside to see what is going on.

This is when they realize the police are already waiting for them in Lithuania. They quickly start to think of ways to evade capture.

Max then decides to use the family. the family is going to drive his van off the ship. The father is forced to take the wheel, playing the role of a delivery worker transporting goods.

When they are stopped by the police, the man gets so nervous. His behavior raises suspicion among the police.

As ordered to open the van, he gets extremely nervous, and the police notice that he is showing signs of anxiety. Inside, Sophie and Elena are hidden in the bathtub.

Sensing the escalating confrontation, Max yells commands through a Bluetooth earbud as he stands nearby, using the family’s baby as leverage.

The driver describes his panic as the result of being held at gunpoint. That is what made him nervous. Hearing this, one of the police officers suggests they let him go.

The police, finding nothing suspicious, wave the van through. Max looks at everything from his hideout and feels a relief.

After driving a little, Max stops the car, and the family is reunited once again. Max then asks them for their phone.

When they hand it to him, he destroys their phones and shoots one of their car’s tires. The family looks at him, still scared for their lives.

The baby keeps crying as his mother tries to comfort him. Elena looks at them, feeling guilty about the situation. But with nothing to do there, they continue their journey.

After a while, Max stops in a deserted area to give Sophie an opportunity to get out. To his shock, Sophie starts telling him that she is not Sophie but her daughter, Marie.

She tells him that her mother had undergone the procedure that changed her appearance. That is why they resemble each other.

Skeptical, Max goes online and learns that Sophie had one daughter who died years ago and was buried in the cemetery where Sophie was visiting.

Marie denies this, stating her mother kept her out of the view of the media. Unsatisfied, the frustrated Max pushes her back into the tub. But hearing this, Elena begins to question what they have been told.

The couple arrives at an abandoned hotel to spend the night. He lets Marie out of the tub, and she keeps insisting she is not Sophie.

She even shares that she actually criticizes the work of her mother for being unethical, and she revealed that she is actually on their side. Elena listens to her, and her doubts begin to grow, but it was still nothing for Max.

Elena gets increasingly frustrated, arguing with Max, who won’t budge. The final straw for Elena comes when Max suggests that even if Marie’s story is true, she could still be used because of their shared DNA.

Horrified, disgusted at the thought of exploiting a child, she storms out. Back in the living room, Marie asks to take a shower, and Max reluctantly escorts her to the bathroom.

As she undresses, Marie relates to him how the age-transplant procedure was originally developed by Sophie to try and save her sister. Max turns to give her a privacy but she attacks him behind and runs away.

Marie, desperate to escape, runs to the woods to get away, but the phone has no signal. As she runs, she sees a light far away. She  realizes she’s being followed and runs faster.

But suddenly, without noticing, she falls into a deep hole that looks like a puddle and she starts to sink. Struggling, she manages to cling to a tree branch and screams for help.

The light she sees from afar turns out to be Elena, who arrives in time and pulls Marie out of the hole. The two women make their way back to the hotel. When they get there, Marie finally showers.

As Marie undresses, Elena is shocked by something that proves Marie right. Her body doesn’t have any scars from the procedure, which means the woman with them is not Sophie.

Elena takes this discovery to Max, but he brushes it off, claiming that skin regeneration might have taken place during the procedure.

Max reminds Elena that everything he has done is for their future. He hugs her, telling her that she deserves better. Back in the tub, a restrained Marie listens helplessly.

Meanwhile, Nowak informs Kaya that he has traced Max and Elena’s whereabouts; the two get ready to move in on them.

A few hours later, Elena and Max are jolted awake by armed men pointing guns at them. The men, members of the Adam group, disarm Max before their leader, Lilith, steps forward.

She brings Marie in and Max begs her not to kill her. Lilith, looking at him confused, asks why she would kill Marie. Hearing this, Max realizes that Marie has been telling the truth.

Kaya and Nowak discuss their plans. Kaya tells him she will get Marie out of there no matter what. She shares that she never wanted to live longer but her work forced her to.

Nowak shares an advice and they vow to save Marie together. They discuss having drinks after their success.

Meanwhile, the three of them, Max, Elena and Marie, are taken to an abandoned building, where Lilith reveals the truth.

Sophie has been hunting for an age donor for her own needs, and Elena happens to be a match and was chosen for the procedure.

Max was sent by the company as the best manager for such cases, but instead of convincing Elena to donate, he fell in love with her, and they eventually married.

When Sophie’s need for a donor became critical, she orchestrated a fire at their apartment, deliberately destroying their home and killing Max’s match to ensure he couldn’t donate his years to save Elena.

Max accuses Lilith of being a murderer, but she coldly hands Elena a gun with a single bullet, forcing her to choose: kill Marie or take her own life.

Elena points the gun at Marie but gets overwhelmed. She then drops the gun. Lilith picks up the gun and tells them that most people might not be able to pull the trigger but when it is doctors who are doing it for them, they don’t mind.

At that moment, Max’s burner phone rings with the location of an illegal clinic, valid for only six hours.

Lilith gives them an ultimatum: they must help her kill Sophie if they want to make the appointment.

On top of everything that is happening, Kaya’s team surrounds the building, preparing to intervene.

Max emerges, telling them that Marie is alive and he wants to talk to Sophie. He pretends the Adam group is not involved and demands that only Sophie be allowed inside, warning that Elena will shoot Marie if anyone else enters.

A young woman revealed to be Sophie arrives. After a brief conversation, Sophie agrees to the terms. After the agreement, Max starts to walk away but Kaya calls from behind and questions how Max knew she would be there.

Max freezes, unable to come up with the right answer. Suddenly Nowak shoots Sophie, knocking her down.

Kaya, acting quickly, shoots and kills Nowak in retaliation. Inside the building, the Adam group begins firing at Sophie’s team.

Max races back toward the hotel, but an explosion sends him sprawling. Dodging bullets, he keeps running upstairs to find Elena.

When he reaches her, he is caught by a rebel but manages to overpower him and escape. He reaches Elena and Marie, dragging them to the garage.

As Max struggles to start the car, Marie reveals she has taken a gun and tries to shoot Elena, but the weapon is unloaded.

Furious, Elena slams Marie’s head against the car, knocking her unconscious. With Marie incapacitated, Max and Elena get into the car and drive away.

Back at the scene, Kaya searches Nowak’s phone and uncovers a shocking truth: He had been in contact with the Adam group, secretly working with  them all along.

Elena keeps driving and Max tells Elena they almost killed Marie. Elena reminds him that she almost shot her too.

Max finally admits to Elena that he doesn’t want to hurt Marie, fearing he would become like Lilith. They start arguing about this and Max asks Elena to take Marie to the hospital.

However, Elena, pushed to her limit, orders him out of the car, threatening to end everything herself if he refuses.

Max gets out of the car and watches Elena drive away. Elena Kees is driving determined to get to the illegal clinic on her own.

Elena reaches the place along with Marie and. The people at the clinic approach and start the procedure. Marie attempts to resist but she is overpowered. Elena sees this unfold standing nearby.

Meanwhile, Max drifts along in his thoughts. He keeps walking until he reaches a bus full of immigrants, which takes him to a refugee camp; he disappears into the crowd, not knowing what he’s doing.

Marie, disoriented, walks on the streets alone. As she walks, she gets found by a truck driver. He approaches and asks if she wants a ride into the city.

Marie is soon reunited with Sophie, who survived the ambush due to the bulletproof vest she wore. Marie is happy to see her mother alive. They hug as Marie cries.

Sophie approaches Kaya, telling her they must find the people responsible but Kaya, having had enough of all the violence, explains that she cannot continue to justify the killing when it no longer seems meaningful.

She then tells Sophie that she is not going to work for her and leaves. After this Sophie goes to see Marie. Despite Marie’s rapidly worsening condition, Sophie selfishly refuses to give up even a year of her life, coldly promising to find a donor soon.

Marie’s condition deteriorates at a very fast rate; she is growing older because of the procedure but Sophie doesn’t care.

Months later, Max walks into a beach. He then sees Elena from afar. She is back to her age and looks young. She is standing with her husband and on top of this, she is pregnant.

She turns to look at him but Max, realizing that she had started a life of her own, walks away. She looks at him from behind.

He then goes to the group that is waiting for him. He had joined the Adam group and he is now going to channel his pain into a new purpose.

In the car, a man gives them an order to be determined. He reminds them of the virtue of their group. They will not let someone’s time be stolen again.

They will fight for justice till they die. If not for them, for their children. They all then put on their masks with A drawn on them, showing determination to fight for justice.

The story teaches us that unfair systems not only affect people’s lives but also make them bad people. Greed and selfishness like Sophie’s can lead people to desperation that would make them destroy innocent people’s lives.

Paradise 2023.