In the arms of Neptune

Clay 2022-03-21 09:01:38

01. Although it is called "Interstellar Exploration", this is not a science fiction film.

It's not exploring the universe, it's exploring loneliness.

02. Why choose a sci-fi background setting?

- Each person is an independent astral body. There is a long distance between each star. Everyone has a message that he/she cannot convey.

-Before other traces of extraterrestrial life were found, in this huge and dark space, the small loneliness of human beings appeared dazzling.

03. Facts about a person

In terms of lines, it is mostly monologue, with little dialogue.

"At least that's what I told myself, to smile at your partner and show that. It's a performance. A performance that has to be expected at all times." --At this point, someone reached out and touched him---" Do not touch me."

The monologue shows the loneliness of the characters even more. We all know this because, too often, we are saying things that no one hears. Like, as he just said, "Don't touch me."

"I've let a lot of people down. I know I'm selfish. I always think I like to be alone. I admit the fact that I'm alone. But I can't take it anymore. I'm alone. My loneliness. The message is over."

- Time and time again, we have developed inertia. On the one hand, we generate massive monologues in our bodies every moment. On the other hand, we adeptly adjust our body and language to respond to a variety of everyday situations. We pretend to be emotionally normal and hide our disgust for those around us, and sometimes, everyone.

04. "Why continue? Why keep trying? Why try?"

He uttered the words under Neptune's gaze. However, no voice could answer his doubts. At that moment, all he could do was stare. Watch Neptune, its azure blue, its slow, peaceful, soft flow across the universe.

Like him, I am watching it all. Everything, everything that happened.

I feel like I've been on the edge of hope and despair. I have been wandering in this edge, choosing to love each other, choose to escape, choose to face, and choose to bury.

05. A dot becomes a dot.

As it leaves Earth, toward the depths of Neptune, the craft gradually becomes a dot.

As I searched for answers, toward the depths of my inner confusion, my life gradually became a dot.

I look back and I don't have what I want, so I let them fly away.

I need an answer.

For that, I know, I need time.

For that, I'm asking, how much longer do I need?

For this, I cannot resist the fear: how much time do I have?

06. Others

In the movie's timeline, the moon is being exploited on a massive scale, and it's slowly becoming another Earth. For hundreds of millions of years, its loneliness, its romance is being eroded little by little.

Humans always bring evil. The constant strife and the constant killing are all due to human nature. And the few more intense scenes in the movie are to illustrate this point: the cosmic pirate team encountered when the lift-off rocket heading for the back of the moon received a rescue signal on the way to Mars, but was unexpectedly received when landing rescue. Primal orangutan attack...

Others are hell, and memory, our very existence, is made up of countless others connected to the self. So, should I say the same, I am hell. The whole earth is hell. Taking this as an understanding, I think, is also one of the reasons why the director went to great lengths to use space as a stage.

07. Mission

The movie begins by launching a mission.

What is the mission?

The son will take a travel rocket to the moon, and then transfer from the moon to another rocket to Mars. After reaching Mars, he will send a message to his father on Neptune, asking him to return. If he refuses to obey, the headquarters will directly send a team to obliterate him.

Assuming you follow the traditional sci-fi movie vision, you will find the task, the plot itself, to be tedious and boring. In the short comment area, I also saw a lot of similar comments, saying that the characters are thin, the process makes a big deal, the expression is unclear, and so on.

However, this is due to the wrong viewing vision.

Because in reality, the mission ended up being: he was going to kill his father.

Patriarchy is the proposition, and this is obviously a philosophical question. However, according to the director's understanding, the "father" in the film is actually another "me". The relationship thus becomes: I am going to kill "me".

We can confirm this from many clues.

For example, the life dilemma of a father is the same as that of a son. Their actions on their respective voyages led to the same result: many years ago, the companion who landed on Neptune with his father died because of his father's paranoia. Now, the crew who went to Neptune with their son, died because of his son's decision.

More obvious examples of lines: "I don't want to be like my dad." "At the end of the day, this son of mine has to bear his father's sins." "I have to accept the fact that I never really knew you. Or, I am you. "

Therefore, I don't think the idea of ​​the film is shallow at all. The director's purpose in starting this journey is to see if he can find a new self. It's about a man trying to kill his inherent flaws, his vulnerability, his fears, and his loneliness. And according to this understanding, the Neptune he is about to reach is actually a symbol of his spiritual world.

08. Comparison and selection

This is the beginning of the video:

"I'm in a calm mood. Slept 8.2 hours last night and had no nightmares. I'm ready. I just focus on what's necessary and ignore everything else. I'll only make practical decisions. I'll never allow it I don't get distracted. I don't dwell on unimportant memories. I don't depend on anyone or anything. I don't make mistakes easily."

-Transfer-

"Your psychological assessment has been approved."

-Accept the mission and stand by to set off. -

(Off-topic in the paragraph: This is a psychological test he must undergo before each mission, stating his state of the day to a small computer, which will then use this statement to detect his heart rate, pulse, etc. , to determine whether he can take on the task he was assigned. It's ironic because he passes the test every time, and even has the highest success rate in the entire department. However, his mental state is actually a mess. However, speaking It's also normal, who can accurately identify our disguise every time? / This is also a detailed portrayal of loneliness in the film.

This is the end of the video:

"I'm calm, sleep well and have no nightmares. I know what's going on around me. When I'm working, I focus on what's necessary and ignore everything else. Yes, I'm fine. Although I'm not sure about the future , but I don't worry anymore. I'll depend on people close to me, and I'll share their stress, as they did to me. I'll live like this. Live for love."

-Transfer-

Comparing the beginning and end together, it's easy to see where the colors of the film are going. But, frankly, I don't like this direction. Maybe I'm being overly pessimistic, but seriously, who could return to Earth so easily from a lonely Neptune? Ask yourself, I can't do it.

Therefore, although I understand the director's intention, and I also understand that in this world, every suffering person still holds infinite possibilities in every second, but I really can't easily pull away and get rid of it. Two hour journey. At the end of the film, all I can think about is his father's choice.

Regarding his father's choice, he has always refused to admit that the search for alien intelligent life is not for honor.

All his life, he stayed away from Earth and made it his mission to find extraterrestrial intelligence, just because he didn't want to be alone anymore. He hopes to come to the end of pain, he hopes to come to the end of "distance", and then let go of self and others, love and hate, light and darkness, and he hopes that he can have the next beginning. So in the end, he let his son let go and chose to let death surround him.

He threw himself into the arms of Neptune's blue.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a totally pessimistic person. I just believe that there is hope in the judgment that his father chose to die. Space, that's where he'd like to stay, isn't it? Staying away, that's his whole motivation for coming to this place, isn't it? He couldn't go back, that's what he knew from the start, that's how he understood his life.

He has covered 2.7 billion and 14 million kilometers. 2.7 billion and 14 million kilometers.

After 2.7 billion and 14 million kilometers from Earth, I also look forward to one day ending my loneliness there.

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Extended Reading

Ad Astra quotes

  • Roy McBride: Here we go again. Fighting for resources. What the hell am I doing here?

  • Roy McBride: I'm so selfish... I'm so selfish... I'm so selfish... I'm a selfish person...