As a former science fiction fan, even though I don't really watch so-called science fiction movies, this niche "Europa Report" really shocked me.
Regarding Europa (from Wikipedia)
Europa, one of Jupiter's four large Galileo planets, has a main composition similar to that of terrestrial planets, that is, it is mainly composed of silicate rocks.
Its surface is covered by water, and it is estimated to be hundreds of kilometers thick (the upper layer is a frozen ice shell, and the ice shell is a liquid ocean below). It was collected by the Galileo spacecraft that orbited Jupiter for scientific research from 1995 to 2003. The magnetic field data of Europa shows that Europa can generate an induced magnetic field by itself under the influence of Jupiter's magnetic field. This discovery implies that there may be a conductive layer similar to the saltwater ocean inside its surface. Europa may also have a metallic iron core. Goddard's high-interpretation spectrometer observed that Europa’s surface is covered with an extremely thin atmosphere composed mainly of oxygen (1 surface pressure is about 1 micropascal). It is speculated that there may be life in the ocean under the ice, and its living environment may be similar to the deep-sea hot springs on the earth or Lake Vostok in the Antarctic, and the form of life may be similar to some hobbies on the earth. Extremely biologically similar. Although there is no evidence yet, based on the possible existence of liquid water, several proposals have been proposed to send space probes to Europa.
Based on the above detection data and inferences, Europa has indeed given people too much room for imagination. If a planet has water and oxygen, then it may have life. Although I have always opposed this view, after all, we have too little knowledge of the forms of life, so far we don't even know whether there are really carbon-based life forms in the world. However, within the margin that our imagination can reach, water, heat radiation sources at absolute zero, oxygen and many other elements are enough to attract attention.
Back to the film itself.
It must be said that the Europa Report has the name of science fiction and thriller, but in fact it has far deviated from the expectations of most viewers. First of all, it has nothing to do with the "thriller" in the conventional sense, because most people prefer to use those visual elements when they define a horror, which is a slow and shaking hand-held push camera, which is dark and unclear music. It's the dizzy lights and the protagonist's tight facial expressions, it's the "who is the murderer" step by step startling... Probably few people think it's scary to be drifting in a small space cabin for 22 months, rarely People feel that absolute darkness and absolute silence are terrible. There are also flickering and intermittent communication channels, my own life that I have to give up, not to mention the complete isolation of the world, a completely unknown destiny, and a completely unknown life.
As for science fiction. I can only say that this is one of the few real hard science fiction movies I have ever seen.
Whenever science fiction is mentioned, everyone must take "Alien", "Avatar", "Abyss", "The Matrix", "X-Men", "Star Wars" and so on. So the sci-fi routines are nothing more than "aliens are here, we are going to defeat them" or "for the future of the universe and let us rush out of the earth to defeat the aliens" and the like. The final product is just to make everyone dazzled, Quandang experience the power of special effects in the 21st century Hollywood dream workshop.
This is not the case with Europa. The film uses the popular "pseudo/fake documentary" style. Except for the images recorded by the internal camera of the spacecraft, all the shots in the whole article are breaking news and person interviews broadcast on the ground.
I have to say that the director's technique is really beautiful. First of all, this shooting method can greatly save the budget. Not surprisingly, this film was shot 100% indoors, and even the few outdoor scenes (space/landing walk) must be shot in studio. As for special effects, the scope of application in the whole article should not be too wide. There are no thrilling fighting scenes, and all the moments of life and death are almost manifested as communication loss; the spacecraft has no big vision at all, only news pictures; the stage of cosmic voyage truly reflects the image of the spacecraft’s "drop in the ocean", simple In other words, either there is no reference object or the relative speed with the reference object is close to 0; what’s more, all the camera positions in the film are fixed, that is, the angle of the camera that comes with the spacecraft, even the scene on the poster is completely I can't see it. Such a technique really makes people want to make a case: "I have never seen such a lazy crew!" I forgot to say that there are only 9 actors in total in this film... Hehe, it's really lazy, right...
But, this one Lazy is very successful, it steals the realism of the three points of the wood. On every frame of the screen, you can see the spacecraft’s logo and machine position description, some of which even have detailed readable parameters. When launching the countdown, when calculating the amount of oxygen, when the landing reading... Especially when the ground probe finally arrived on Europa in the period of time. The entire detector has only two tiny windows for external observation, and only one person guards the observation window at a time. All other perceptions of the outside world are realized through instruments, data, and outside cameras. The astronauts in the cabin naturally don't know what is going to happen outside, and the audience, who is usually from the perspective of God, don't know. Everyone is waiting, can only wait, wait for the next step, wait for a result.
This kind of narrative method is too "boring" for many people, and there is no orgasm at all, let alone the classic Hollywood 5min, an explosive vice. But in this process, you can see their clearer state, excitement, frustration, loss and trepidation, as well as the longing for the distant place, the longing for the unknown, buried in our blood since the beginning of our birth. , Desire for life. When that line appeared side by side in the words of different characters on different occasions-"Compared to the world that will never be known, how important is your personal situation"-the feeling at that moment is far better For all the great special effects that are surprising and curious. An unknown world, small power, subtle but solid footsteps.
I am a spectator who loves "Wonder" movies extremely, so I have made a lot of Hollywood blockbusters and meaningless vulgar romantic dramas. However, in addition to entertainment, as a type of film, an art, and a tool to record personal thoughts and the progress of civilization, Europa has lived up to the name of "science fiction". It brings a real crazy fantasy and calm thinking. Its grandeur is not in the scene, but in the intention.
It was also mentioned that this film is nothing more than a story about human beings being hunted and killed by aliens in alien exploration; in other words, this film is just another kind of "main theme" education. Let me talk about the former first. In fact, the extraterrestrial creatures in the film did not directly assume the role of "cannibalism". There is not even any lens surface that the astronauts really died in the end. They just lost contact, to be precise, lost contact on the band known to humans. Maybe they became guests of aliens after sinking into the water? As for the so-called "political correctness", first, in addition to the small red flag at the collar of Wu Yanzu, the regime is also deliberately downplayed in the film. The Europa project is only a group enterprise that unites funds and powers; second, if If there is really a "main theme", then it is the spirit of sacrifice for the truth, and I even prefer to express it as "the desire to die for the truth." What's wrong with the "correctness" in the concept of civilization history? If one day I can have the opportunity to set foot on another planet far away, touch the land there, and witness life that was unthinkable before, I guess I wouldn’t mind going home or not, but I would mind if Can't let more people see and understand.
There are two shots that impressed me the most in the film, and they also made me tremble. One is that James finally decided to exile himself in space. The angle of view is the shoulder camera of the spacesuit. With a pure black background, you can see an arm and a corner of the mask, as well as the spacecraft that is getting farther and farther away, and then there is sunlight passing through the angle of view for a short time. In the end, the whole picture was completely still, except for the arm and a small piece of mask, there was only the empty black in the center of the picture and the sound of heavier breathing. Suddenly, I felt that something was still moving. It turned out to be the spaceship floating in the corner of the screen. Gradually, I couldn't see it anymore.
Loneliness, loneliness, fear. I can't say how to describe it. I can't describe it.
And Katya. She was responsible for guarding by the small window when she landed for the first time, so she was the first to see the real Europa, and she could no longer stop watching Europa melted into snow. Later, for the scientific research and for her own unrealistic dream, she stepped on the ice of Europa, but because of this, she could not turn back. But her face mask camera faithfully recorded her last look, and the beautiful images reflected in her pupils: white light, like LEDs, can’t tell what it is, wandering, converging, and flickering, seeming to be alive. After the discovery of single-celled organisms, after everyone thought that they had finally made a major discovery, and that they were successful, another higher-level organism that can respond to its own behavior. She turned off her overhead light, and there were even brighter black eyes in the darkness. The center of the eyes reflected another kind of intelligent life.
How beautiful.
Here, it is too redundant to explain what Fermi's Paradox is and what is Dark Forest. I just hope that one day there will be a real documentary saying the same: "The discoveries they have obtained from their exploration redefine the definition of human beings for themselves and even life. We finally know that the universe we live in is far craziest than us. The illusion is richer, more exciting, and more vigorous."
Zhao heard it, and died in the evening. At least, it proves that we are not alone.
View more about Europa Report reviews
