I’ve seen many films throughout my lifetime, some of which had an enormous impact on my way of thinking or shaped the values I hold.
But Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” is a film like none other.
If you have any sort of free time this weekend, this movie should fill it.
Every plot twist I tried to predict wasn’t even close to what transpired. Every expectation I had about the movie was shattered into a million pieces. This movie is an absolute work of art, created by the mastermind that directed both “Inception” and “Memento.”
Though it may be another science fiction movie with an ending that leaves you utterly shocked and confused when the screen goes dark, this is the kind of suspense and drama that many movies can easily miss.
No one likes predictability. The audience craves to be thrown curveballs, because that is what makes a film more engaging. It makes us care more about what’s happening, and our minds don’t wander.
“Interstellar” centers on love, courage, discovery and the unknown. Many movies touch on these in perfect fashion, but “Interstellar” does it within the context of the survival on Earth and space travel.
Venturing into space on this three-hour adventure made me realize how small, yet special, our world is. The protagonists, played by Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway, travel far from an Earth struggling to survive, leaving behind loved ones in the process. The trip causes internal strife for the characters, and made me appreciate the fact that life can be sustained on a floating rock situated in an ever-expanding universe.
The film also toys with spacetime concepts that haven’t been touched on before in such a detailed and accurate manner: there are wormholes, time relativity and a fifth dimension. In fact, the movie paved the way for a breakthrough in our current model of black holes.
Contrary to the traditional belief that black holes are invisible, the film’s special effects team found that black holes have a halo around them, which could give scientists a better understanding of how light behaves around a black hole.
Aside from “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “Contact,” which are considered to be the most classic space-centric movies, Nolan has set the latest precedent in movies about space exploration.
Not convinced? Just ask Neil deGrasse Tyson, one of the most widely respected astrophysicists and cosmologists of our generation. Two days after the film’s release, Tyson tweeted a series of “In #Interstellar” tweets, praising the film’s depictions of space as never done before.
In #Interstellar: Experience Einstein’s Curvature of Space as no other feature film has shown.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) November 10, 2014
In #Interstellar: You enter a 3-Dimensional portal in space. Yes, you can fall in from any direction. Yes, it’s a Worm Hole.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) November 10, 2014
In #Interstellar: And in the real universe, strong gravitational fields measurably slow passage of time relative to others.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) November 10, 2014
I didn’t expect “Interstellar” to be as good as it was. As I watched the movie, I was in absolute awe. When leaving the theater, I was shocked by what I had experienced. I sat up late that night thinking about the lessons the movie taught and continued to reflect on the ending.
And that’s what defines a great film. You leave the theater and can’t stop thinking about what you just watched. It leaves you curious, it makes you want to see it several more times, and even then you still have questions.
“Interstellar” does it right.