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    Interstellar

    Reviewed by
    pietroantoni@

    I have to start by saying I am an enormous fan of Christopher Nolan and his writer brother, Jonathan. I consider them in the genius category of a William Wyler or Alfred Hitchcock, so prepared for every film to the tiniest detail. Very EARLY Nolan like FOLLOWING, especially the award winning MEMENTO and even INSOMNIA created a new type of film-making. The Dark Knight is pure classic, of course. Once you get to INCEPTION the concept and ideas of dreams. The various level of dreams and other insightful themes seem to preoccupy Nolan more than the idea of MEMORY from earlier films. With INCEPTION, the Nolans rousing plot makes it a great adventure, but one children and younger teens would never be fully able to understand except on a very superficial level. It's just too deep.

    Much of what I've stated can certainly apply to INTERSTELLAR though not to the degree of Inception. I detest any ideas that the Nolans were copying Kubrick's '2001, A Space Odyssey.' That is so INACCURATE, the films being two entirely separate entities, Interstellar more of an earthly, scientific-fact based background, while '2001' truly innovative as sci-fi, filmed back in the 60's when all that we saw was visionary beyond belief. Nolan might have been inspired by the film, but no way is it copy-cat. There is a point in the film in which Mr. Nolan pays tribute to the great space adventure of Kubrick. You would have to know Kubrick's film fairly well to pick up on this! Mr. Nolan is too bright, too much the genius to resort to pilfering from the grand master, Kubrick. Christopher and his younger brother write their own scripts, every one of them, so what we have is a true 'auteur' film, a term coined as far back as the 60's, usually referring to a French director who wrote and directed his films.

    Let's take a closer look at the film itself. If INTERSTELLAR is a space movie with much happening in the stratosphere, so much diversity, well, then, it is a great space film. For the most part, though, it's knowledge we are already familiar with. Is Chris Nolan playing it safe or merely trying to avoid the inevitable comparison to Kubrick? NO! The film is as he wanted, able to express what was on his mind and that means MORE THAN JUST A STORY OF OUTER SPACE! It's Nolan's nature and manner to extrapolate something of substance from each and every film he's made and intends to make. What's vital is what YOU, as an individual, believe and can accept as plausible in Nolan films. If you are not at all open to Nolan's very dogmatic ideas, just avoid his films. Simple as that!

    Right off the bat I'll admit I'm no physics enthusiast though this science of mathematics plays a key role in the entire proceedings, represented by Michael Caine as professor Brand who is secretly up to something beyond earthly matters. PHYSICS is so integral to the film that the physicist used to authenticate all procedures on Interstellar was given EXECUTIVE PRODUCER status. Now that has to be a first! Some, from the reviews already posted, obviously view Interstellar as a sort of preposterous epic, but so what! IT IS AN EPIC on a scale very few directors can envision. It was clear well before the film's release that critical and public perception of the film would range from heart gasping adulation to an almost complete repudiation of the film as ridiculous. This is human nature and true of any director with anything worthwhile to postulate. NEITHER OF THE ABOVE REACTIONS IS TOTALLY ACCURATE! Film can't be reduced to a simple fact of personal taste if YOU ARE AT ALL SERIOUS ABOUT THE MEDIUM! All aspects of film making must be scrutinized to discover its greatness or lack thereof. Simply stating you like or dislike a fim means absolutely nothing at all!

    While essentially in the category of science fiction, I admire Nolan for offering some intelligent speculation in an effort to make the idea of leaving and returning to this planet a dramatic framework that makes complete sense while firmly grounding the work. Further, Nolan's several references to a parent-child bond emphasizes that family is as important as science... INTERSTELLAR'S superb adventure, delineating earthly ideas while presenting actual scientific fact can't be dismissed. The film's mighty achievement, for me, at any rate, is not one to soar into some vast, unknown dangerous place as was abundantly clear in '2001' or, perhaps, even last year's GRAVITY. Mr. Nolan was deliberate in what he was doing needing to explore facts important to him. Earth has a host of problems so grave that we can only hope there is some other locale, some Utopia, an 'El Dorado' that can sustain life as we know it. There are several references in Interstellar as to the nature of these earthly problems. Yet in a most ironic turn, the Nolans avoid any mention of the most serious problem facing us, namely, GLOBAL WARMING! Very interesting indeed!

    Trying to maintain thought and suspense in an almost 3 hour epic is no easy feat so my hat goes off to Chris Nolan and his brilliant team. Nolan tackles big themes in INTERSTELLAR so expect something off kilter, easily spotted if the film is viewed with a keen, omniscient eye. Let's face it no one is infallible! The family ties in the film are thrown at us much too often leading to repetition that gets boring. This is not a character drawn film, many personages reduced to simply a few emotions. The characters are not ideals of literary masterpieces; perhaps Anne Hathaway's role is the weakest delineated character, but NONE can be admired as a high bench water marks of character. But then, it's not that type of film. See a film like Pride and Prejudice if it's characters that fuel your imagination. Other minor matters exist, but to my mind, very few will note these really subtle aspects. The strengths of INTERSTELLAR by far outweigh the flaws. Nolan is easily forgiven. Let's not forget that no contemporary film maker can do what this film maker does.

    Much of the cinematography is brilliant in beauty and detail. The musical score by the awesome Hans Zimmer is as epic as the film itself, a score quite unconventional, convincing and dominating when necessary. The sound engineers have given us an outer space devoid of sound as it should be. Neat trick of SOUND ENGINEERS to create the 'NO' sound of effect of deep space. The film boasts an unbelievable cast from the most recent Oscar Winner, Matthew McConaughy, Oscar Winner Anne Hathaway, Two time Oscar Nominee Jessica Chastain (who is already being mentioned for a Best Supporting Actress Nomination, Wes Bentley, the great Oscar Winner, ELLEN BURSTYN, 2 time Oscar winner Michael Caine and many more including Oscar Winning Writer and 2 time Oscar Nominated Actor MATT DAMON whose sequence in the film is both bizarre and difficult to grasp. INTERSTELLAR has moments of supreme brilliance. Creating something this gargantuan inevitably leads, however, to the impossibility of total perfection. Love the film or hate it, it can't be dismissed. It rises to a plateau few film makers or films can achieve. Last year's GRAVITY seems like a cake walk compared to INTERSTELLAR! It's been wickedly difficult to review a film so rich in substance without revealing any salient facts or plot line as even great great critics often do,. Being ultra careful not to receive a RED mark above one of my reviews. In any case, Thanks, Mr. Nolan! I would have rated the film higher but could not justify it for the reasons stated.

    8
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    pietroantoni@  10.11.2014 age: 36-49 14,540 reviews

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