Recently our nine o’ clock destination was Moon, an indie film that came out last year. It’s a science fiction film in the tradition of 2001: cerebral and speculative. It was what I was hoping Sunshine would be a few months ago.
Sunshine was flashy and initially interesting, but it couldn’t decide what it wanted to be. It started as a science fiction film with an interesting premise, and with promise too. Then it devolved into some kind of wannabe space-based horror film, complete with an absurd, supernaturally strong villain and unashamed to resort to cheap tricks of cinematography and music to create tension. The ending was unsatisying, but I’m not sure if it would have stood on its own merit in a more restrained film, because I just couldn’t see past the sins the movie had already committed.
Sunshine was bright and flashy, and it shone strong for a while but ultimately burned itself out. Moon, on the other hand, was almost completely quiet and pensive. Full of vast stretches of rock and time, it was a movie about solitude and repetition.
It primarily concerned the relationship of one lonely man with his computer, and with himself. It had eye-candy enough, yet it was beautiful despite the visuals and not because of them. It raised silent observations and delicious questions on the subject of consciousness (both human and machine). It was captivating.
