Movies: Interstellar

(Drivebycuriosity) - Traveling through the universe is an old human dream. But interstellar travel makes not much sense because even the nearest sun systems are light years away. Some scientists believe that there could be a solution: "Wormholes" might exist, meaning shortcuts, which would allow to jump immediately into another part of the vast universe.

The movie "Interstellar" plays with this idea and other theories (imdb). The film is a blend of science fiction and fantasy. Director Christopher Nolan and his brother Jonathan, who wrote the script together, used science like relativity theory, gravitational waves, quantum physics, black holes and more and mixed the physics with self made fairy tales (this is a spoiler free blog. You can find a synopsis here wikipedia). The plot isn´t logical and plausible, but entertaining. The Nolan brothers certainly targeted the mass market and an audience who doesn`t care much about science and science fiction.

I enjoyed "Interstellar" anyway, because of its gorgeous cinematography. I had the luck to watch the film on a huge IMAX screen. There the spectacle could fully deploy its beauty. Director Nolan, Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema and the special effects team created awesome pictures of space, the earth and other planets, and fabricated fascinating space ships, extraterrestrial worlds, wormholes and more. The film shows clearly how much space movies have evolved since Kubrick´s "2001: A Space Odyssey" (filmed 1968).

Matthew McConaughey`s rich talents weren`t challenged in the leading role as a farmer and astronaut (!). Similar underemployed was the rest of the impressive cast including Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, Matt Damon, John Lithgow & Casey Affleck. But a sci-fi spectacle isn´t a Shakespeare play.

"Interstellar" is a cutting-edge space movie and delivers entertaining 2 1/2 hours pop corn cinema.


PS: For illustration I used a painting by the Italian artist Giorgio Tardonato (tardonato).