November 13, 2014

Interstellar: A Blast From The Future

"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."

~Dylan Thomas

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. - See more at: http://allpoetry.com/Do-Not-Go-Gentle-Into-That-Good-Night#sthash.vl1M0fcn.dpuf
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. - See more at: http://allpoetry.com/Do-Not-Go-Gentle-Into-That-Good-Night#sthash.vl1M0fcn.dpuf
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. - See more at: http://allpoetry.com/Do-Not-Go-Gentle-Into-That-Good-Night#sthash.vl1M0fcn.dpuf
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. - See more at: http://allpoetry.com/Do-Not-Go-Gentle-Into-That-Good-Night#sthash.vl1M0fcn.dpuf
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. - See more at: http://allpoetry.com/Do-Not-Go-Gentle-Into-That-Good-Night#sthash.vl1M0fcn.dpuf
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. - See more at: http://allpoetry.com/Do-Not-Go-Gentle-Into-That-Good-Night#sthash.vl1M0fcn.dpuf
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. - See more at: http://allpoetry.com/Do-Not-Go-Gentle-Into-That-Good-Night#sthash.vl1M0fcn.dpuf
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. - See more at: http://allpoetry.com/Do-Not-Go-Gentle-Into-That-Good-Night#sthash.vl1M0fcn.dpuf

If I was asked to describe Interstellar in one word, I would say orgasmic. The perfect combination of Nolan's perfectly executed idea, parade of beautiful casts, roller coaster of emotion, and Zimmerman's sweet composition; topped with a perfect staccato of noise and silence created the perfect tempo and thrill only a handful other movies can match.

Cerdas, tampan, dan kebapakan. Tidak dijual terpisah.
 If the phrase were translated to English, it would lose its
meaning >=D
The slightly fatalistic movie is centered on the struggle of a misfit father, Cooper (first name remains a mystery), who were born "40 years too early or 40 years too late" for his time. Cooper, as with his daughter, has a curious mind; in a time when people are too busy surviving to give critical thinking a chance to thrive. See, within the dystopia pictured in interstellar, the earth is failing. Resources are rare, as the earth refuses to provide mankind with the staples required to survive. Plus, the climate is hostile for human survival. So humankind compromise, and Cooper the astronaut became an unused tool. Desperate for a fulfillment, he follows the hints from a freak anomaly that sends him off on the journey of his life, among the heavens.

After following a coordinate bestowed upon him by a gravitational anomaly, Cooper finds himself in an active NASA base, guarded by an improved, slightly less aerodynamic, version of R2D2 named TARS. TARS himself, and his kindred, is an extremely human-like AI. He has the perfect combination of logic, wit (100% humor level), honesty (90%, as apparently "honesty is not always the best diplomacy when dealing with emotional beings"), and surprisingly, wisdom. I want TARS more than I want R2. And that's saying a lot. Great job, Nolan!

Or maybe this planet-eating guy?
Anyway, enough about TARS. Cooper was then assigned on a mission, where I highly suspect that the crew members were obliged to have a certain degree of physical beauty in order to join the band. The mission is to search a new home for humanity, and in order to do so, the team needs to follow the guidance from a mysterious "fifth dimensional being" who has conveniently provided a wormhole for the team to travel to another galaxy. This plot reminds me of Agent Smith from the Matrix. He said that human being are like virus who invaded a host and multiply until the host died, then we move to another place. Apparently, Agent Smith has a point.

To make a long story short, after a series of failed attempts in finding the alternative planet to live in, and a series of tragic loss, Cooper realised that he needed to make sacrifice and plunge himself into the black hole in order to ensure the only person left in his team (Dr. Amelia Brand, accompanied by TARS' kin, CASE) can arrive safely on the last viable planet and start building a compound for the rest of humanity to live in. Which is, apparently the perfect choice for him because by doing so he could access the vault of singularity and pass on necessary messages to his daughter on the planet that has reached its critical point.

Okay! Enough about the plot! I want to talk about how he movie made me feel. First, I just want to give a standing applause for Christopher Nolan. Genius! I wonder what is inside that mind of his. I would love a chance to explore his thought, The Cell style. But that would be creepy. This movie took me on a crazy emotional roller coaster ride. No doubt that Matthew McConaughey delivers the role of Cooper flawlessly. But after Dallas Buyer Club, I don't think anyone doubt that he will do so.

But he was so good in this movie...
Speaking of the casts, as I said earlier, this movie is a parade of beautiful people. That being said, this is also an interesting mix of group, which somehow blends in perfectly like a well-designed eclectic room. Everyone did their role so naturally and they successfully engage viewer's emotion. I laughed at TARS' jokes, cried at Cooper's pain, and held my breath during Dr. Mann's explosion due to space exposure. Unfortunately, as much as I love Matt Damon, he's the least emoting person in the movie.

Compared to the previous Nolan's movies, Interstellar is the most emotional. Nolan's movies are usually emotionally detached and focuses on the plot rather than the emotional turmoil. Even Memento. But in this movie, Nolan really explored the depth of human emotion. He even delved into the romantic concept of love as reflected on Amelia's statement when talking about Planet Edmund. I don't think he has ever done that before. Or at least, not this deep. I don't know if Nolan was just experimenting, or whether he has grown, but either way the experiment was damn successful.

Furthermore, I love how Nolan chose not to overwhelm the viewers with unnecessary details. This is reflected by how the majority of characters does not even reveal their first name all through the movie. Also in the simplistic design of TARS and his kinsman. This way, viewers can focus on the storyline.

In conclusion, I think this year has been a great year for movies. We have Her, Lucy, and Interstellar. Three of the best movies ever made. So while you are waiting for The Imitation Game to be launched, go watch Interstellar! I have to admit though, this kind of movie makes me feel superior. It feels good to be able to truly enjoy a movie that is incomprehensible to at least 70% other people who watched the movie. Sue me. I'm vain that way. >=D

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* Picture of Cooper was taken from the movie
** Picture of Galactus was taken from this page
*** The last picture was a poster for Talented Mr. Ripley movie