Movies: Another Earth

How would you feel if you accidentally ruined the life of others? How would you deal with that guild? This is the subject of the movie "Another Earth", directed by Mike Cahill (www.imdb.com). The film tells the story of a student girl who caused a fatal car crash. We are learning how she adapts to her new life caused by the accident and how she tries to heal mentally herself and her victim, a male composer. 

The title of the film refers to a phenomena: Another earth appeared suddenly in the sky. The pictures of this huge blue disk in the sky, much bigger than the moon, are pretty. But the mirror planet is just the icing on the cake. The director isn`t really interested in the other earth. We don´t learn much about the twin celestial body. The movie isn´t really science fiction and doesn´t pretend to have a scientific explanation for this event. We just learn that there might be people on the other earth who could be duplicates of ourselves.

Cahill is much more interested in the interaction between the girl and her victim and there lies the charm of "Another Earth". Its fascinating to watch how a relationship develops between the girl, played by the newcomer Brit Marling, and the man, William Mapother, who won a bit fame for his role in the tv series "Lost".

The movie focuses on Brit. Its appealing to watch her clean and almost innocent face. Her expressions make her face a book you can almost read. Doubts, suspicion, comprehension, joy, disappointment and other emotions are moving like clouds over her face.  

"Another Earth" is a slow and quiet film, both fascinating and calming.