Film review
Interstellar
We are used to Christopher Nolan putting us in situations that make us
rethink our concentration and logic, by making films like Memento or Inception. But
this new film has taken a step forward, by introducing a team of astrophysicists and
scientists as associates in writing the scenario, in order to give the film a completely
new dimension and brand new indeed it was.
The film is characterized by a long exposition, maybe even too long, which
serves to familiarize the audience with the main characters and subplot that is to be
developed further on. Matthew McConaughey (Cooper) is a former NASA pilot and
engineer who, along with his daughter Murphy and son Tom, grows corn on a farm,
in the midst of worldwide food shortage that is caused by global sand storms. The
lack of food is certainly one of the most important issues when mankind concerned,
and Nolan used that fact as a subplot forming a question - what would happen if the
nature decides to reject us completely and life on Earth, as we know it, becomes
impossible?
After one of the sand storms, Cooper finds out the coordinates of the hidden
NASA station and that is what sets all the things in motion. NASA is presented in this
movie as a non-governmental self-financed research centre and that certainly opens
up a kind of an ironic way of looking at it. Be it as it is, later on it is found out that
Cooper is the only pilot in the world competent enough and, as it is often the case,
the only one who can continue the NASA research on the life beyond Earth an
exploration that will help save the world. By setting this plot tone, the film shows its
ethical point, in this case family life. To leave your family in a disastrous situation
on Earth and all for the sake of some non-proved and unfinished research comes as
a powerful and big decision, which in turn makes Cooper a very complex character.
His departure will take a toll on his relationship with daughter Murphy and that will
turn out to be a key element in the unfolding and final outcome of the film.
Throughout the movie, we follow Cooper, but it is an interesting point of view if one
considers following the events through Murphys eyes and her life experience on
Earth. The characteristic father figure is recognized in Professor Brands relationship
with his daughter, who would be joining Cooper on this unforgettable journey. The
issues of family, support and togetherness are the crucial emotional basis in this
film, forming in that way a clear ethical and moral stand. A Hollywood film would not
be as popular if it werent for bits of romantic (and a bit pathetic) pathos, this time
between doctor Brand and a member of the first NASA team that headed for the
exploration of other planets. To compensate for the old Hollywood pathetic, we
come upon the robot characters and their ironic and coldhearted sense of humour
(hladno nego krvni?!).
What makes this film complex and dynamic are subplots and wrong decisions
that protagonists make, creating thus a string of events in which one can recognize
many different motives that help in interpreting the film from versatile aspects. On
the technical side, Nolan is up to the task, as he was on all his films, and what
makes it even more impressive is the fact that the filming was analogue and the CGI
was scarcely used. The filming process is definitively a kind of a Nolans response to
the current issue of analogue-digital transition. What he certainly achieved is the
need to watch this film on the big screen and in the cinemas, rather than trying to
go through it on somenarrow monitors. One must also mention the ingenious Hans
Zimmer, who was behind the films music score. Interstellar is bound to become a
blockbuster hit and some future generations will value it the same way as we do
Kubricks Odyssey.
Interstellar does have certain inexplicable parts, somewhat illogical, that
request a more thorough and comprehensive analysis. But the point is that this film
should not be interpreted solely based on its details, but it should be seen as a
whole, because only that way is it truly breathtaking and impressive. Also, this film
is fairly superior comparing to others of the similar genre, for example Gravity
(2013). Nolan has once again proved his innovativeness and perseverance in the
film industry, and those features in themselves make him one of the greatest
directors of the 21st century, and Interstellar is on the right way to be crowned the
top sci-fi film of our time.
Ilija Djordjevic, student at the Department of Sound
Design
