Sanford F. Young

Awful movie. The story line, acting and directing were among the worst I've seen in a long while. Even the sets and "special effects" were terrible and totally unrealistic. For example, although the spaceship suffered terrible damages from the meteor storm, out of nowhere appeared huge replacement parts that somehow were installed by two loan astronauts. The inside of the ship was also odd. For example, it had a wall fill of free standing shelves brimming with unsecured supplies. It looked more cluttered and precarious than my basement storage. The scenes with Augustine encountering the pack of wolves was a two-dimensional cloud of vague images; and his survival and falling into the frozen sea unreal. Of course, the excuse for all this lack of realism and clarity was the figment of his imagination. Although Clooney is a hugely talented, this movie was a major disappointment.

I was mesmerized. Everything about the movie was perfection: the story (spoiler alert - except the incredibly sad and true ending), the actors, the writing, and the directing. I fell in love with Caroline, and wished I had the charisma of Sergio. I normally do not like movies that rely on back-and-forth flashbacks, but it worked well for the movie. After the movie ended, I went back and rewatched the scene between Sergio and the lady-weaver in Timor. The empathy he showed toward her was incredible. I especially admired the slow pace of the scene and dialogue; Sergio's economy of words, the long quiet absorption of what she was telling him, how he avoided platitudes, advice/giving and judgment. He simply listened with care and shared her pain and dream. I wonder if that conversation actually took place. If not, I wonder how the writer came up with the lady's speech. It had to be inspired from some cultural wisdom. I think I will watch the movie again!