Plot
A group of explorers make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.
Release Year: 2014
Rating: 9.4/10 (7,133 voted)
Critic's Score: 75/100
Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain
Storyline
In the near future Earth has been devastated by drought and famine, causing a scarcity in food and extreme changes in climate. When humanity is facing extinction, a mysterious rip in the space-time continuum is discovered, giving mankind the opportunity to widen their lifespan. A group of explorers must travel beyond our solar system in search of a planet that can sustain life. The crew of the Endurance are required to think bigger and go further than any human in history as they embark on an interstellar voyage, into the unknown. However, through the wormhole, one hour is the equivalent of seven years back on Earth, so the mission won't work if the people on Earth are dead by the time they pull it off. And Coop, the pilot of the Endurance, must decide between seeing his children again and the future of the human race.
Writers: Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan
Cast: Matthew McConaughey -
Cooper
Anne Hathaway -
Amelia
Wes Bentley -
Doyle
Jessica Chastain -
Murph
Matt Damon -
Dr. Mann
Mackenzie Foy -
Young Murph
Elyes Gabel -
Michael Caine -
Professor Brand
Casey Affleck -
Tom
Topher Grace -
Getty
Ellen Burstyn -
Old Murph
John Lithgow -
Donald
Collette Wolfe -
Ms. Kelly
Leah Cairns -
Lois
David Oyelowo -
Principal
Trivia:
Some of the "archive footage" in the teaser trailer was filmed specifically for the production and then altered by the visual effects teams to appear much older. See more »
Quotes:
User Review
Author:
Rating: 10/10
The film begins by establishing at his own rhythm its ambitions: men
overexploited land resources, which is why the only goal they have left
is to survive. This life is not enough for Cooper, brilliantly played
by McConaughey who gave body and soul to this character. But all of
this wouldn't hold without the total control of Christopher Nolan,
based on the languishing soundtrack by Hans Zimmer, the luminous and
impenetrable photography of Hoyte Van Hoytema, and the sincerity of
Nolan's directing. He manages to film the characters and to find the
right cut at the right time, always in harmony with Hans Zimmer's
soundtrack, to give the film an aspiring and inspiring dimension that
went missing for many many years. Thus we are transported into the same
cockpit that Cooper, we feel the same remorse that he can already feel,
we feel the same gravity, and we feel the same fear of the unknown
melted with the force of his will. All of this is brilliantly
illustrated in a very simple directing choice, which from my point of
view is the decisive impetus of the film: to directly jump from when
Cooper leaves in his truck, leaving his family behind him, to Endurance
taking off. This simple editing decision allows Nolan to give an
original movement to his film, and the musical crescendo makes us
physically feel the sentimental break between two parts of the film.
You don't necessarily have to understand it immediately : The film will
raise questions in you, such as : what is it to be a human being, is
there some physical limitations to our humanity, how far could we be
willing to go to determine knowledge, is there other dimensions that we
can not access to, and above all: what is the nature of this intact and
immutable bond that unites us to others wherever we are in the universe
? Is this bond only intelligible, or is it also tangible ? All these
questions resonate in harmony in Nolan's Interstellar.
Interstellar is itself a crescendo, increasing sensitivity and
creativity. I use the term deliberately because it goes crescendo with
the soundtrack by Hans Zimmer, which is one of the most beautiful music
ever scored for a sci-fi movie. We are witnessing a perfect musical
arrangement, a total symbiosis, a bit like the music of Gravity which
had understood very well how to match the image and the rhythm of a
sequence to its own musicality. Zimmer's crescendos are giving a new
powerful breath to every new scene, whether it is in visually powerful
& intense moments or in more intimate moments; it intrudes into our
momentary feelings and sensations, and manages to extend them,
sometimes almost to choking, before resting on the balance of the film
frame along with our mind spell-bounded.
I have seen all the talent of the director that I knew he was outside
the norm, but whom I did not know his capacity to reinvent itself.
Because this is it: Interstellar is not an action movie, not really a
blockbuster, and it goes not entirely but mostly again the expectations
of common people. It's much more than that. This is much more than just
a sci-fi movie. It is unlike any of his previous films. Some hoped to
see Interstellar as Christopher Nolan's best film, and they were
disappointed that this was not the case. And indeed, THIS IS NOT THE
BEST FILM of Christopher Nolan. Because in a way, IT IS HIS FIRST FILM.
I'm not saying that Interstellar is not as good as his other films, it
goes beyond all of them. But to me Interstellar is the first film of a
new stage in Nolan's filmography ; it is a masterpiece as it the
beginning of a work ahead. Interstellar is the proof that Nolan has
finally managed, despite all the expectations that were placed on him
after the success of The Dark Knight, to move away from his own
reputation to create a personal work, original, humble, sincere and
deeply, meticulously, measured.
Now, in this third act of the film, it all comes to life with
unparalleled strength. Nolan poses and answers questions that raise
others. But he focuses his attention on the great mystery of love, that
emotional bond that can unite men and sometimes separate them. But
Nolan is the only one that can successfully speak of love from a being
to another in a film that mainly takes place in a another galaxy. From
my point of view, only Solaris by Steven Soderbergh (2002),
unfortunately neglected by the audience, was able to accomplish that.
Interstellar is based on a premise which is the following : from
terrestrial dust to the depths of space and time, we can never be
separated from who we are as individuals and as a species, as we always
leave a part of ourselves "behind" us. In other words, I could say that
this is a human story, and even if we go as far as we want to, if we
travel through the universe believing that we can be detached of the
one we are fond of, we will only get closer to them. Because the
separation, and thus the distance and time, can only ultimately
reinforce the relationship between the people who really love each
other. Because it is going to the end of the world, when we reach the
end of ourselves, that we reach the singularity of the "black hole
beyond the horizon" * : it is our humanity. No, I wasn't been able to
find any bad flaws in the film. Not one, and I'm still looking. After
all, Interstellar is like gravity, "all it takes is a little push ! "
*you'll have to see the movie to figure that one out.
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