Thank you for taking a look at Movies In The Rockies. This blog will take a stab at reviewing movies from the eyes, ears and mind of my non-hollywood mind. I am not an artist, insider or expert. I just like movies and want to share some opinions. Each review will start with a quick synopsis of the film, followed by my perceptions. A final rating will be given with the following rating scale:
Sea Level = The movie falls short of climbing even to the first tier Altitude.
Colorado Plains = The movie starts moving upward but lacks the legs to take it to the hills.
Foot Hills = The movie has legs, but air has left the lungs and stops the movie in its tracks.
Montane = The movie has legs and lungs.
14ers = This movie has eclipsed the summit.
The problem with independent film is that if you want to see it on the big screen you may have to drive a little ways to do so. After making the long awaited move from Colorado Springs to Denver, I had to go back to Colorado Springs to check out the indie film Another Earth, directed and co-written by Mike Cahill. The movie starred a brilliant young talent, Brit Marling (she also wrote the script with Cahill). I first heard of Another Earth after reading a recap of this year's Sundance Film festival. Although the film entered Sundance with very little fan fare, it came out as one of the top films.
The movie is a mix between science fiction, tragedy and drama. The best part of the science fiction is that it focuses on the story rather than special effects or non-human creatures. It is also done with a very modest budget, which always holds a special place for me. Another Earth tells the story of Rhoda, played by Marling, who causes a terrible tragedy that straps her with a criminal past and strangles her with unbelievable guilt. At the same time, scientists have found what seems to be another planet which turns out to be another Earth. The idea is that there is a whole parallel planet with not only another Earth but another you, me and everybody. Rhoda sees this as her way to start again so she signs up for a chance to visit the 2nd Earth. The trip to 2nd Earth though turns out to have complications when Rhoda visit's one of the victims of her tragedy and a relationship ensues.
The concepts of Another Earth were complex and in a 90 minute film left the viewer with a few holes that were left open. That being said, the mirror of our world and all of the people in it was a brilliant way to dig into the emotions that are involved with retribution, love and loss. The story of the 2nd Earth was told in a variety of TV broadcasts in people's homes, radio stations in the work place or news paper articles that people read in the course of their day to day lives.
I do predict that some people will see this movie and not find it as strong as I do. This does not mean that you won't get it or that you don't understand the concepts. It just means that you may not appreciate the telling of a story with the backdrop of a concept that hasn't been realized yet. An example would be one of my favorite films, Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind. The whole idea of a medical procedure to erase specific parts of one's memory was hard for some to go along with. Similarly, there is no 2nd Earth (that we know of) and telling a story as if there is one might be hard for some to get past.
That being the case Another Earth earns a 14er Movie In The Rockies rating. The story was brilliantly written, directed and acted. I am excited to watch Brit Marling, who is currently 27 years old, turn into a top shelf performer in Hollywood. Just a few years ago Marling was working on Wall Street after graduating from Georgetown. She took a leave of absence to write the documentary Boxers and Ballerinas (2004) and her film bug took hold. Now she is involved with no less than 4 films that are either in production or pre-production at the time of this blog.
I would like to say go see this film in your local theatre but unless you are in Colorado Springs you may have to drive a ways to get there. I'm not sure when we will be able to access Another Earth on DVD but I suggest you keep your eyes peeled and see this movie.
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