Tuesday 25 November 2014

Interstellar (Good,4/5)

We saw this film days ago. However we felt the need of digesting this complex film so that we could share a review that would make sense.


These films have the potential to become an iconic cinema treasure. They certainly have a great level of imagination and complexity. They also like to "break the rules". In a Marvel-blockbuster era, it is amazing to see that a blockbuster was able to bring existential and philosophic questions about the existence of mankind and its evolution. Christopher Nolan (Memento, The Dark Knight Trilogy) was the right man for that. Otherwise none of the Studios would have given him $165 million for shooting the film. 

It tells the story of former NASA pilot Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) living with his family in a dying planet Earth. Humanity committed enough sins by plundering Earth resources and disrupting the climate system. Growing food is more and more difficult and so, Humanity needs to look up to the stars and take a big step: looking for life in another planet. Cooper along with other scientists (among them, Anne Hathaway) will go to explore in the black and infinite space the opportunity to live somewhere new. 

The apocalyptic scene has been used many times in Science-fiction movies. However we are very surprised to see that Nolan's script tries to entertain the viewers through the actors and not (only) through dramatic action sequences. The actors raise the fear of exploring the unknown (life in another planet, Death) and make it a constant topic.However this fear means opportunities to discover and learn about ourselves. What are we capable of? How far can we go? Isn't that a fear that paralyses any human being? Any society? 

We can't tell much of the story (we would blow it) but there are many elements that supports this idea of being a film that "break the rules". It reminded us to "2001: Space Odyssey". No one thought of filming Human's evolution. It was breath-taking, it was provocative. We attribute these same characteristics to "Interstellar". 


A shame that Nolan's script falls into many cliches. That is the main problem with the film. Instead of going further (as Kubrick did with 2001: Space odyssey or Tarkovsky with Solaris) it decided to go in harmony with the fear of the main characters: the one of exploring the unknown. So much potential to become a masterpiece wasted (e.g. Cooper's relationship with his daughter and their spiritual connection) to have a more square script. Why didn't Nolan take more risks? 

We value the great imagination, the dramatic intensity of the scenes, the score (by the gigantic Hans Zimmer) and the incredible special effects. One of the big hits of 2014. To be seen in IMAX.


Trailer

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