Another Earth

Tragic convergence of lonely orbits
I'm a cantankerous old goat, rarely moved to hyperbole, but I was simply enthralled by this film: totally absorbed throughout, except when I found myself chuckling giddily at the realisation I was watching a profoundly brilliant piece of cinema. The last time I had that sensation was in 1991 when I saw Silence of the Lambs. Another Earth is an utterly different film, but in its own way it offers, just as completely, everything that this medium of film promises and so rarely delivers.

In Another Earth, a new planet appears, close by, in the sky. In fact, it is another Earth, identical to our own. Thereafter, Earth II precipitates, frames and propels a delicate and desolate gravitational attraction between two irreparably damaged people. Irreparably damaged because the only thing which will heal them is the only thing that cannot: each other. Another Earth explores that relationship and, with the aid of the planet-sized metaphor, the ever-present path-dependency of our short,...

Very Insightful
This movie is very well done. No 3-D aliens and nothing exploded. Very thoughtful dialog and great use of the Science Fiction genre to tell a very human story. William Mapother (probably best known as "Ethan" in the seies "Lost") and Brit Marling (who has an economics degree from Georgetown an looks very comfortable playing the "smart girl" role)are very good. Kids will find this boring as will people that need helicopters in every other scene to keep their attention. But if you want to view deep characters in an interesting story, this is a jackpot. I gave this 4 stars but I'd call it a 4+.

Should have done much better at the box office
Why didn't this film do better at the box office? Was it the marketing or, was it was just too cerebral for most of the movie going public. Perhaps the trailer gave the impression of unremitting and unrewarded suffering. In the last case, be assured that there is true and well deserved redemption that comes with a twist at the end. Whatever the problem was, the fault was not the film. But, it prevented this movie from drawing an audience in numbers it should have. And that is a shame. Its failure at the box office will further dampen the spirits and limit the opportunities of truly original film makers. Don't let this happen. Buy this movie and reward intelligent, creative and thought provoking films that will provide a welcome relief to the normal mindless Hollywood fare.

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