"In the grand history of the cosmos, more than thirteen thousand million years old, our Earth is replicated elsewhere."
-- Dr. Richard Berendzen (from the film)
-- Dr. Richard Berendzen (from the film)
Right before the screen fully faded to black and the credits were set to roll in 1979's oft-maligned Star Trek: The Motion Picture, these words appeared on the silver screen: "The human adventure is just beginning."
Setting aside the controversy regarding whether that film was good or bad (I've often argued that it's very, very good), I think that phrase certainly summed up the way many of us in genre truly think about Science Fiction films: namely, the very best of them are about the human condition -- this ongoing adventure -- and not so much the flashes, bells, and whistles storytellers like to cram inside them. At the film's heart, there's a real heart -- a human heart -- that beats in time with yours and mine. It suffers the same shortcomings, has the same strengths, and experiences an awful lot of what you and I do. Occasionally, I suppose it's safe to suggest that maybe a filmmaker or two goes way into the deep end of the pool, choosing to functionally minimize most of a flick's SciFi and/or Fantasy elements in favor of focusing more strongly on that human core ... and from what I've read that's probably why a feature like Another Earth (2011) probably only skirted legitimate SciFi fandom by appealing to a more centrist and/or artsy audience.
The picture premiered on this day back in 2011 screening for audiences in attendance of the Sundance Film Festival. Actress and budding auteur Brit Marling headlined the piece, and why not? She and director Mike Cahill collaborated on the screenplay, and they cast such talent as William Mapother, Matthew-Lee Erlbach, DJ Flava, and Meggan Lennon to join them on this journey into the heart of man. Here's the premise as provided by the good people at IMDB.com:
"On the night of the discovery of a duplicate Earth in the Solar system, an ambitious young student and an accomplished composer cross paths in a tragic accident."
Setting aside the controversy regarding whether that film was good or bad (I've often argued that it's very, very good), I think that phrase certainly summed up the way many of us in genre truly think about Science Fiction films: namely, the very best of them are about the human condition -- this ongoing adventure -- and not so much the flashes, bells, and whistles storytellers like to cram inside them. At the film's heart, there's a real heart -- a human heart -- that beats in time with yours and mine. It suffers the same shortcomings, has the same strengths, and experiences an awful lot of what you and I do. Occasionally, I suppose it's safe to suggest that maybe a filmmaker or two goes way into the deep end of the pool, choosing to functionally minimize most of a flick's SciFi and/or Fantasy elements in favor of focusing more strongly on that human core ... and from what I've read that's probably why a feature like Another Earth (2011) probably only skirted legitimate SciFi fandom by appealing to a more centrist and/or artsy audience.
The picture premiered on this day back in 2011 screening for audiences in attendance of the Sundance Film Festival. Actress and budding auteur Brit Marling headlined the piece, and why not? She and director Mike Cahill collaborated on the screenplay, and they cast such talent as William Mapother, Matthew-Lee Erlbach, DJ Flava, and Meggan Lennon to join them on this journey into the heart of man. Here's the premise as provided by the good people at IMDB.com:
"On the night of the discovery of a duplicate Earth in the Solar system, an ambitious young student and an accomplished composer cross paths in a tragic accident."
To the film's credit, Another Earth garnered a good share of recognition during festival screenings as well as throughout awards' season. Still, what matters most to those of us who traffic in the realm of SciFi closely are the Saturn Awards, sponsored by the Academy Of Science Fiction, Fantasy, And Horror Films. In that respect, Another Earth received two solid nominations (but no wins) in the categories of 'Best Actress' (for Ms. Marling) and 'Best Writing' (which she shared with Cahill).
As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!
-- EZ
As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!
-- EZ
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