High Life

Difficult to do a non spoiler bit of text on this.

How much do we really care about other people?

Claire Denis' nihilistic sci-fi film is principality about morality, (de)humanization, social conscience and living in the now. But it's also about isolation, procreation, nature v nurture, carnal desires and incarceration. Early on, there is a conversation about taboos - the ending of the film certainly raises a few questions about that. There are even nods to sustainability and climate change. This film draws on influences of older films and is an ethereal, ambiguous experience. It is not an action based Sci-Fi thriller.

There are elements of Tarkovsky throughout, particularly' Stalker' and 'Solaris'. The themes of dogs may represent loyalty or master and slave type relationship. Comparisons with 'Annihilation', '2001' and 'Arrival' might also be made. It's violent, ascerbic and at times distressing. But it also has a real beauty about it, owing mostly to some superb cinematography from Yorick Le Saux and Tomasz Naumiuk.

Pattinson and Binoche are great, as they always are - but I thought Mia Goth stole the show as Boyse. This film will divide audiences but I thought it was an absolute gem.

8.6/10

I love watching this movie. I don't really know if it is a great movie or why, but I really felt relaxed at the end of it. Nihilisticaly beautiful and amusingly contemplative, this piece is not for everyone.

If I have to give a negative comment it would be on the long list of disregards to science related aspectos that harmed a little bit the verisimilitude of the trip taken.

Have you noticed how fecundation seems like flying through a black hole?

PS: I don't recomend watching this movie when you're high because it will never end.

Esoteric and poetic, but very singular; certainly not for everyone

High Life is as multiplex-friendly as anything in director Claire Denis's oeuvre (which is to say, not in the slightest). And although she's ostensibly working within genre parameters, the film covers many of her more familiar themes - the darker aspects of desire; the notion of being an outcast; parenthood; the inescapability of death; the beauty of the human body; the relationship between violence and sexuality. The presence of Robert Pattinson will probably draw in a lot of unsuspecting folks, who will have no idea what to make of Denis's slowly paced existential musings, resulting in a slew of "worst film ever" reviews. But although it's not Denis's best (that remains either Beau travail or Les salauds), it's a fascinatingly poetic and original film that is utterly uncategorisable.

For my complete review, please visit: https://boxd.it/I8UJX

Even for an A24 film, this is frustrating, challenging and maddening. But this isolated space tale is also mesmerizing and thought-provoking. It's ultimately hard to recommend. Weird. Nihilistic yet optimistic Extremely polarizing

I will give credit for attempting a sci-fi film with a Tarkovsky-esque tone that isn’t an attempt to remake Solaris. On first watch, its trappings of artistic depth come off as a cover for little underneath.

It’s quiet, eerie and thought provoking but also jarring Lu violent with some character motivations and development that just didn’t click.

All in all the performances and the atmosphere allow for introspection about solitude and purpose but something prevented me from caring to the point of deep emotional impact.

I watched this with my 6 week old daughter on my lap for extra astronaut-dad vibes. It helped.

I love high-concept sci-fi movies. I also love space-melancholy movies. But, I barely connected with this one. For all the questions the movie seems to rise nothing feels strong enough to compel my curiosity. Great cinematography, decent acting but, fails to keep me hooked with the lackluster mid-region of the screenplay. An attempt to nullify this with a forward-backward narrative style wasn't that effective.

The most absurd mission itself cannot be.

Upon 2nd viewing, I disliked it slightly less. As a sci-fi nerd, I was disappointed with the set design. I agree with one reviewer who likened it more to a cheap office interior than some hightech space ship. I was missing the flight deck, consoles, control mechanisms. The space suits looked ineffective and poorly conceived. The only closing door I saw was for the fuck box - which honestly was the hottest part of this movie. Otherwise, let's see - lots of graphic violence against women, bodily secretions every damn where, the 1st victim was Black (even having Andre 3000 make a comment about it didn't make it less cliche), a jumpy timeline, random exposition (who the hell was the dude on the train??), mumbling important dialogue... Sigh. I wanted to give it another chance after hearing how much Pattinson adores this director Claire Denis. I can't say I agree yet. Maybe 3rd time's a charm....