This movie is a pretty faithful remake of the original, complete with pensive pacing and inherent ambiguities in the plot and its resolution. It’s cerebral sci-fi that doesn’t have as much to say as it seems to think it does, using an interesting concept to propel a somewhat less interesting story.
Closest comparison: It’s like Ad Astra by way of Melancholia (2011).
Setting: Grounded Sci-Fi
Plot: Mind-Bending Sci-Fi
Tone: Dramatic Sci-Fi
This movie is a pensive sci-fi arthouse piece from Russia in the ‘70s. Its glacial tempo is on pace with Meek’s Cutoff even more than Ad Astra. There’s about 40 minutes of movie here stretched out into 2h45m. And for all that, it offers no conclusions for the questions that it recognizes exist while being careful to not actually pose them. It’s more nebulous than it is confusing, and much like Blade Runner the mood is a much larger part of the story than the plot.
Closest comparison: It’s like Forbidden Planet by way of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Setting: Sci-Fi
Plot: Philosophy
Tone: Drama
