Kuunari

Genre: Science Fiction/Independent

Synopsis:

In the movie Another Earth, A young woman celebrating getting into MIT gets distracted by the report that a new planet has been discovered and hits another car, seemingly killing all the occupants.  The rest of the film follows her as she tries to make restitution after leaving jail and the  world uncovering of more information about the second planet in the sky.

The Good

The concept itself is great.  Some of the shots reminded me of some of the DC Comics crisis’s, with the earth and the moon appearing in the sky. Most of the information about the new planet comes through background radio and tv news programs, which function almost as a narrative.  It is a very sparse movie, reminding me of Primer, which is one of my favorite science fiction movies of all time.

My favorite aspect though, is the fact that the movie isn’t really about the new planet.  Instead, like most good science fiction, it uses it’s science fiction aspect as a plot device in the more traditional story of redemption.

A fact I discovered looking at wikipedia, Brit Marling, the lead actress, is also the screenwriter  for the movie. Rather impressive.

The Bad

Like a lot of indie movies, it’s slow.  My wife and I watched this while we cleaned up the guest room.  If I hadn’t been cleaning, I think I might not have enjoyed the movie as much as I did and my wife, not a huge sci fi fan, did not really enjoy the movie.

Recommendation

It’s a good movie, but I should emphasize that it is not a traditional hollywood science fiction flick.  Instead, it’s slow and meditative.  If you liked movies like Primer than you might enjoy this movie.