Sunday, November 09, 2014

Interstellar



Rating : 6/10
Release Date : 7th November, 2014
Time : 169 minutes
Director: Christopher Nolan; Writers: Christopher and Jonathan Nolan; Music : Hans Zimmer
Starring : Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathway, John Lithgow, Mackenzie Foy, Timothee Chalamet, David Gyasi, Casey Affleck, Jessica Chastain, Topher Grace, Matt Damon, Leah Cairns




Do not go gentle into that good night; Old age should burn and rave at close of day. Rage, rage against the dying of the light

What would we do if life on Earth was about to come to an end, with dust storms blight ensuring most crops couldn’t survive and the planet becoming increasingly hostile ? In Interstellar, the answer lies in discovering other worlds which could possibly support us and is packed with stunning visuals, of space and bleak landscapes, a touching father-daughter story and some memorable dialogues. Unfortunately, all of this also comes with a lot of scientific, quite implausible sounding mumbo-jumbo about dimensions, black holes, worm holes, quantum data, relativity of time, gravity and the like, and also a slightly Hindi filmy touch throughout, so while the film is enjoyable, its not quite the mind-bending masterpiece its being made out to be



Mankind was born on Earth. It was never meant to die here

At the family level, McConaughey, living with his dad and kids (son and daughter) and is trying his best to be a farmer, something he hates, but there is not much use for a NASA pilot anymore since food is a primary unfulfilled need. The school recognizes his daughter as a bright spark but classifies the son as a potential farmer. In the tenth grade itself.


We used to look up at the sky and wonder at our place in the stars, now we just look down and worry about our place in the dirt

The world is still coming to terms with food shortages, coping with increasing dust storms, blight and a diminished population and a changing world order. One of the drones flying over Matthew’s farm in mid-west American is made in New Delhi, for example.


We must reach far beyond our own lifespans. We must think not as individuals but as a species. We must confront the reality of interstellar travel.

And, in secret, Michael Caine, a renowned scientist with NASA, is exploring for habitable worlds, helped by his daughter, Anne. And fate / a gravitational anomaly leads McConaughey there too.


You don't believe we went to the Moon?
I believe it was a brilliant piece of propaganda, that the Soviets bankrupted themselves pouring resources into rockets and other useless machines.


This is where the film starts to get spectacular visually, weighty dialogue-wise but also, very complicated and in a lot of ways, defies credibility. The end message is probably ‘Believe’ and the finale similar to how a lot of our ethnic films end, requiring lots of faith and a suspension of disbelief. The film is fun as well, in a ponderous kind of way, thought-provoking in large parts (what does lie above us, what if all we learnt about dimensions wasn’t true etc) and helped along by a very earnest performance from its main lead, who’s enjoying a spectacular renaissance of sorts in his career.


You might have to decide between seeing your children again and the future of the human race.

Like it or love it – this one will tickle your imagination. And just for some time, will make you look above with a renewed sense of wonder…


We've always defined ourselves by the ability to overcome the impossible

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Too many loopholes clubbed with too much drama for a science fiction movie. Left hard core science fanatics hate it more than tickle their brains.

Anonymous said...

Too many loopholes clubbed with too much drama for a science fiction movie. Left hard core science fanatics hate it more than tickle their brains.

Anonymous said...

Too many loopholes clubbed with too much drama for a science fiction movie. Left hard core science fanatics hate it more than tickle their brains.

Subjective Engineering said...

Surprisingly, other than the last 15 minutes, I felt like being tutored in kindergarten of scince fiction! I don't expect geeky jokes in a comedy movie, nor do I expect scientific explanation of the coincidences in the romantic dramas. I also do not expect people to justify the physics of action movies. Then why for a science fiction movie Nolan spends time explaining basics of science fiction to the audience. Relativity... Time dilation... Black holes... These have been the building blocks of all space travel production since eighties.

Saving grace was the last 15 minutes where they try to portray how fifth dimension might be perceived by three dimensional beings - something I tried to imagine for decades with varying results!

Anonymous said...

He may have directed stunning space drama Interstellar, but Christopher Nolan does not own a cellphone or an email address ! The British helmer, who has been behind hits like Memento, Prestige, Batman trilogy, Inception and Interstellar, says when he started out not many people had cellphones and he never bothered to get one. He has never used email because he doesn't find it would help him with anything he does, he just couldn't be bothered about it.... "As far as the cellphone goes, it's like that whole thing about 'in New York City, you're never more than two feet from a rat' - I'm never two feet from a cellphone."

Anonymous said...

Unfathomable....

Anonymous said...

"I want to party in space because I make alien music." - Davit Guetta