There are films that entertain you. There are films that spark your interest. And then, every once in a while, there are films that make you feel the terrfying humbling smallness of being a human in a very vast universe. Interstellar, released on November 7, 2014 , is precisely this film.
Christopher Nolan's(the director) space epic isn't merely a movie. It is an experience. A collaboration of hard science, raw emotions and breathtaking spectacles. I decided to watch this film because it came in highly recommended and the question that's still ringing in my mind is "what if the world is slowly coming to an end?". I still can't shake off the feeling that this particular movie is a subtle warning to humanity.
The movie is set in a near-future Earth where 'blight' has decimated global crops and dust storms are normal occurrences. Humanity is quietly dying not due to a global virus but due to lack of food. When a gravitational anomaly leads Cooper, a former astronaut turned farmer, to a secret NASA facility, he is given an impossible choice; stay on earth and watch his children slowly strave to death alongside the rest of humanity or pilot a spacecraft through a newly discovered warmhole near Saturn, one that may lead to a habitable world in another galaxy. He chooses to go and in doing so, he embarks on a journey that will span galaxies, decades and time.
Interstellar is stacked with extraordinary talent some of whom include: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Mackenzie Foy and Michael Caine. The movie spans 169 minutes.
One thing that separates Interstellar from other science fiction is it's insistence that love is not soft or sentimental. It is the hardest, most enduring force in the universe and this was the part that kept me glued to my screen.
In my opinion, Interstellar is not a perfect film. It's acts are densely plotted and demands lot from viewers who are unfamiliar with theoretical physics. On different occasions, characters explain scientific concepts in dialogue and just expect viewers to get the gist. However, I admire the film's refusal to dumb down it's concept which leaves viewers with the options of learning new things or not.
The movie covers themes like time dilatation and the relativity of love across space and time, humanity's survival instinct against individual sacrifice, the thin line between life and death, parental love, deception and humanity's destiny, all of which were very though provoking themes.
This film captured the terrors and beauty of existence. Majority of the film was shot in space and it would have been nice to see the societal changes on earth in greater details beyond the dust filled farmlands but I guess we got what we got.
Another interesting thing I noted from this film were the fully functional robots. Robots that could make decisions based on their programs. Robots that were actually helpful and could watch your back. Robots that didn't have ulterior motives.
If you're a parent who has ever agonized over a choice between your ambition and your children, this would be a good movie for you. If you're into science fiction or you just like to discover new things then this would be a good watch.
I would give the film an 8.5 out of 10 rating because even after a decade its one of the most interesting space films I've seen.
