Another Earth

Wow. This is one of those thought-provoking films that will stay with you long after it's over.

It was impeccably co-written by Brit Marling - who's also the lead, and co-written and decently directed by Mike Cahill, in his first full length feature film. The fact a new filmmaker took this vision and gave us this beautiful independent little gem - on a 100k budget, is incredible. This is better than some films I've seen lately put together by seasoned filmmakers.

It's not your typical sci-fi, but it will spark the brain and move your soul. It's a muted story of atonement and forgiveness, in a quietly moving parable of redemption from the choices we make. The ending was perfection, as it answers that question you'll have, and leaves something extra for the imagination. The cinematography was excellent, and the score absolutely fitting and amazing. Casting and performances were spot on.

My only issue was Cahill's annoying and pointless fast zoom-ins, and the unnecessarily slow pacing, that made the normally pleasant 92 min runtime feel much longer. But nevertheless, for a new filmmaker on a limited independent budget, this was a gem to watch. It's a well deserving 8/10 from me.

Hammer your expectations down through the rocks. Here, let me help you. There's 1000's of fellow IMDb'ers who thought the movie sucked horribly. A lot of suckage. It's not that great. It's not sci-fi. If you're thinking of another movie to compare this to, no matter what you pick, this one'll fall terribly short.

To the facts, Brit co-wrote the movie, she's gorgeous. I probably would've given up half-way if it wasn't for the mysteriousness she portrays. That face, gawd! Made on a shoestring budget. Heck, Brit had to do her co-star's make-up in between shots. This is a movie made with passion, and a lot of faith that they'd done good stuff.

Well, let me sorta paint my experience watching 'Another Earth'. Glued to my seat, for an hour and a half, almost as if this was a thriller? I'm serious. Captivated by the gorgeous shots of 'earth 2'. Waiting for the little streams of info being released ever so stringently -- the announcement on the radio as they discover earth 2, and a whole bunch more. I've already mentioned how captivating Brit is.

What? No Sci-fi? There's definitely food for the sci-fi enthusiast. The premise comes from a mixture of new-age string theory of the multiverse kind. The ending'll have you wondering about Einsteinian space-time implications.

The core of the movie is largely philosophical. Forgiveness. Rebirth. etc. Kept me struggling throughout with my emotions about the main character. Past the acting. How much forgiveness can the viewer unleash? And is it justified?

Chill out, leave your expectations at the door. You may not like it. It's slow. It demands your attention, so keep away from the caffeine. You might not feel the same way about Brit though. She's gorgeous. She really is. It's just a well-made passion-filled indie-flick. It's got some gorgeous imagery. The atmosphere, constantly thick, with color and emotion. This review's gone on way too long. Indie flick of the year? Gets my vote. Who cares?

Oh BTW, its possible your friends'll hate you for recommending this. Especially if they're the kind that finds it hard to appreciate photography, artsy stuff maybe, and don't have much patience, you know, generally. So there ya go, one final reason for you to dig this flick. The fact that you like it -- yeah it'll be one of those things you look back on and say 'Hey, I really am different. I appreciate interesting deep stuff. I'm like an artist, philosopher, or something. neat!'. Holy hell. What? Is that really why I...

Greetings again from the darkness. An award winning film at Sundance, this one seems to carry the same polarizing effect that "Tree of Life" does. The reviews and comments have been discordant and contentious. After sitting through a Q&A with Mike Cahill (co-writer, director) and Brit Marling (co-writer, star) I am guessing they are taking great pride in the love/hate responses. Their film was designed to take you deep ... make you think and self-analyze. This is not a fluffy Owen Wilson rom-com. Explaining what it is, well, that's a challenge.

The story begins with Rhoda (Brit Marling) out for a night of partying. We learn she has been accepted to M.I.T. and that she is quite the space and astronomy lover. Her very poor decision to drive home after drinking results in a horrific accident that changes her life and that of a young family. At the same time, scientists discover "another Earth" has been hiding on the other side of the sun. Flash forward four years as Rhoda is released from prison.

She is a broken spirit whose bright future has been dashed. She tracks down the man who survived the crash she caused and has every intention of apologizing. Instead, she cleans his house. She finds John (William Mapother) has dropped out of society and found numbness in the bottle.

I won't say more about the story because it is really something to watch unfold. What I will say is that I found the advertisements to be somewhat misleading. This is not a sci-fi film per se. Sure the second earth brings about numerous questions concerning the "other" us. What would we say? How would we react? Have I done better there than here? But that is actually an underlying element to this story ... always present in our thoughts and those of Rhoda. Instead, this film is a psychological drama. And a dark one at that.

You will recognize William Mapother (The Grudge, Lost), who plays John. He has a regular guy look to him and stretches well from happiness to depression to, once again, showing a spark. Brit Marling is one you don't know, but will soon enough. She is an amazing presence on screen and avoids the Hollywood acting crutches. She plays Rhoda as the damaged, confused creature she is in the story. Very well done.

A couple of other interesting notes include Kumar Pallana (The Royal Tenenbaums)as Purdeep. With minimal screen time, his character provides Rhoda with a lesson she needs. There is also a scene where John plays a saw as a musical instrument. The sound is amazing and the music is actually from Natalia Paruz, who is knows as the "saw lady". Other music in the film is outstanding and courtesy of Fall on Your Sword. Very unique, but a perfect fit for the film.

I went to the cinema on the spur of the moment, I had a couple of hours to kill. I scanned the billboard for anything that might seem vaguely interesting - "Another Earth" sounded science fiction-y so I bought my ticket and went in.

It's important I explain this for two reasons: first because I saw this movie "tabula rasa", having not seen trailers, read reviews or having any idea what it was about. Secondly it became evident from the bad- tempered muttering in the back I wasn't the only one to have done this.

At first I struggled with the concept, but I kept an open mind and a very different movie to the one I thought I would see developed, and was actually quite well done. After about 20 minutes I was ready to get up and leave, but giving it time paid back dividends, by the last half-hour I had become too involved to consider leaving.

The story is a slow burner that grips you incrementally, and while the occasionally grainy or out of focus shots give you the strong impression this was made on a shoestring, that is no reason to hold anything against it. Having seen the high budget yawn-fest "Transformers" I can actually say that given the current state of big budget science fiction this is a refreshing, if a bit left-field approach to the genre.

Evidently my companion viewers in the cinema, a small group of guys, were not getting as much out of the deeply troubled love story that forms the basis of the plot, and they made their discontent very audible to my irritation.

In brief, not a film for everyone, but if you're in the mood for an introspective slow-burner and you've got the patience for it, this film will prove a rewarding experience

This is not a commercial movie, but something like a documentary shot with a commercial movie like quality.

The storyline in the IMDb main page describes the premise of this movie, but thats not what this movie is about.

The other planet thing is just like the background music, its there for effect. Other Earth is all about beauty, the attention to detail and the simple yet delicate story.

Its a lot like those many many beautiful Japanese movies (Tokyo Story comes to my mind, though I have to say its not as good as that). Its a beautiful journey, and when its done you lie back and think about its beauty.

This movie is highly recommended if you enjoy simple movies like those.

This is not a sci-fi and even the logic behind the other planet is too far fetched and they don't even hide it, they never go into any scientific details. There is also no action, nor is it a thriller.

Cheers. :-)............