The film is a mix of things that shouldn't work but many do. Despite it's unity of style--virtually every scene is shot exactly the same way, the two leads are so good and work so well together that the fact it's a talkfest kinda' doesn't matter, and the fact that it's best element is the relationships/love that develops between sexy alien and dorky earth man builds an emotional pull probably because it's all a film about the two of them. Each actor is well cast and couldn't be better, she seems convincingly superior and times, he seems doltish but later quite handsome and rather deep==these attributes being displayed at the perfect moments. We never learn the names of either character in the film--a device that works. The film is full of devices, some pretty distracting.
The film is very much like a stage play, even a planetarium show, only the multiple locations and constant time-lapsing make it purely a movie at the same time. The style is unique enough to work much of the time.
Being science fiction, it will naturally draw some smart ass retorts and deserves some of them, but the film is about differing world views, the details of those worlds may be wrong at times, but it's really just a framework, you can almost say it's about the differences between men and women and how they can work for and against each other.
What fails is the filmmakers "hug a tree/save the earth" message. For a film that becomes so much about two people's relationship to then try to jump the a broad view "issue" it's trying to sell fails. It has to. Stories are at their best when we relate specifically to individuals, not when they try to boil down individuals into groups and causes.
The framing device of the movie of the whole story being told round a campfire to two kids leads to a clunky final scene selling the tree hugger message. Now don't get me wrong I'm all for tree hugging but it's like having too much candy all at once. Even the right message and idea can be delivered in the wrong way.
Again though this is a big though minor problem compared to what the two actors do and the parts they play. The film credits them and the crew with coming up with additional script material--a rare credit to see from a writer director.
At times fascinating and moving at less times a bit the same and ham handed in it's message. Still worth a look and memorable. Good music score helps too.
Film has full frontal female nudity right at the start, rather than in a key love scene later, it feels like a commercial decision to do it this way.
