Spaceman

Spaceman promotional shot

Streaming on: Netflix

Language: English (original) - wide range of other languages available

CC: English - solid range of other languages available

Genre: Science Fiction, Drama

Content warnings: Spiders, brief depiction of pregnancy loss

Welcome to March y'all. At the time of this writing "Spaceman" was #1 on Netflix for their Top 10 Movies in the U.S. Today. This one is based on the 2017 novel “Spaceman of Bohemia” by Jaroslav Kalfař. It gives us Adam Sandler in the role of Jakub Procházka, a Czech astronaut investigating the Chopra Cloud — an area of space near Jupiter whose purple glow has become visible from Earth. To be super clear the Chopra Cloud is a fictional space entity. I'm a big space nerd so I'm going into this one with a relative level of excitement. I'm also glad to see Sandler continuing to take on roles that get out of the goofy-often misogynistic-frat boy humor territory. Here's hoping he's a good fit for it.

Ah yes, the dramatic music turning into opera as we see an astronaut in a flight suit... wading through a forest stream. Exactly how I expect every space movie to open. Unsurprisingly it's a dream that first connects us to our main character Jakub as he's 189 days into his solo journey in space... on the outskirts of Jupiter as a matter of fact. Definitely a punch in the gut to contemplate 189 days of being absolutely and utterly alone... in space. It lands a bit differently in these times post lockdown years. Toss in that double whammy we're keyed in on less than 7 minutes in that Jakub's wife is in some process of wanting to leave him - though it seems like perhaps he isn't aware of that as we begin the film. Imagine having pretty much all of your intimate details known by not only your bosses, others you work with, but by some of the government leaders who sent you out into space alone. It honestly hadn't really occurred to me that that might be a part of the process to be an astronaut. Certainly gives an extra moment of pause around any versions of desire to go to space, not that my disabled diabetic ass is a great candidate in the first place. The adult reality of bureaucracy is super apparent and I earnestly appreciate that. We spend a weird amount of time idolizing adulthood and not near enough time showing some of the other aspects of reality. OoOoOoo enter our very Hal like voice and the question of Jakub's sanity as he interacts with it. Visually this film is a little on the dark side - I might recommend watching it in low lighting if possible. Another instance of "space film" that has me nodding my head in one of those this probably should have occurred to me before I started moments. Also cue a different kind of note that if you have any kind of arachnophobia this film is probably NOT for you as there's definitely space spider entities as an element. Well done space spider entities... but space spiders none the less. For some section of the film our Hal like voice is paired with a giant space spider. I think the space spider is actually really well done and it reminds me of a giant version of many of the happy spider memes found on the vastness of the interwebs. Paul Dano is the most excellent voice of our space spider friend by the by. EMOTIONAL SUPPORT SPACE SPIDER!!! I don't know why but the giant emotional support spider brings me weird amounts of contentment.

The use of fisheye perspective on all of Jakub's memories with Lenka is a visually beautiful way to represent a journey through the mind and remembering things we miss. I appreciate the use in this film in particular since it's such a journey through emotion and human relationships. This film also presents some really poignant messages around the ideas of atonement, being on the wrong side of history, and how we carry the weight of those who came before us. I wouldn't even really call this film a science fiction film save for the lead character existing in environment that happens to be outside of Jupiter. I would solidly categorize this film as a drama and more specifically as an exploration of the human mind, of humanity, and of the complex braiding of dreams, reality, and emotions. Like I'd love to see this film presented in any number of sociology, psychology, or human behavior courses. The journey through relationship is really beautifully done in my opinion - particularly the drift apart as it relates to ambition and dreams. As someone who went through a divorce in large part due to the drift that occurred between us... I get this one hard. The parallels of Jakub in space and Lenka in the pool both experiencing this kind of physical weightlessness and emotional turmoil leaning heavily into loss is another beautifully executed moment in the movie.

I am so amazingly here for the space spider entity - through this whole movie super clearly. The concept of encountering "the beginning" simultaneously alongside the ending. Past, present, future. The combination of all entities in time rather beautifully packaged in sparkly purple space dust. I'm very inspired to read the novel after watching this one. I'm very curious what versions of magnitude and humanity it may contain. I love it when watching a movie inspires me to want to read the book or novel it was based on. In conclusion I enjoyed this movie - and it was not what I was expecting when I started it. I do feel like Adam Sandler was a good fit for Jakub and does a good job conveying some very emotion heavy perspective without it feeling phoned in at all.

Beloved quotes:

"The silence is the point."

"I am starting to understand why daydreams and nightmares, they are both of essence."