RG
Roberto Giacomelli
•Rhoda is returning home after an evening of celebration for her admission to MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), but a mysterious planet recently visible in the sky distracts her and causes a car accident in which the wife and son of musician John Burroughs lose their lives. Rhoda serves four years in prison and upon her release, all her dreams have vanished; tormented by guilt, the girl earns a living by cleaning in a school and meanwhile, the planet that had appeared in the sky has become increasingly large and visible. Rhoda happens to see John Burroughs, follows him, and discovers that he lives in deplorable conditions, so she decides to introduce herself to him and reveal who she is, but, not finding the courage, she passes herself off as an employee of a cleaning company and offers him her services. Scientists discover that the planet is a mirror of Earth, even inhabited by exact copies of the Earthlings, so shuttles are organized for the first visits to what is called Earth 2. Rhoda decides to apply.
When science fiction becomes minimalist and decides to explore the intimate dimension of the human being, rarely deplorable works emerge, on the contrary, history (even recent) has taught us that it is the good ideas and not only the explosions and special effects that make good cinema, even in a "closed" genre like science fiction. "Another Earth" belongs precisely to this category, an independent film with science fiction themes that blend with a deep reflection on pain and second chances. "Another Earth" is perhaps a film not suitable for a wide audience, certainly not for those who expect only spectacle from fantasy cinema, to give you an idea of what to expect, imagine a small but beautiful film like "Moon", with few characters and an original story, but blend it with the philosophical intensity of "Solaris" and "Melancholia", all with a look at the cerebrating space/time paradoxes of "Donnie Darko". Well, "Another Earth" could be a shekeratura of all this, but with its own extremely powerful identity that in the end makes it stand out as a film unto itself, unique.
The debutant Mike Cahill directs, writes, produces, edits, and is in charge of the photography of the film, in short, a jack-of-all-trades that denotes the extremely independent nature of "Another Earth". But if the deliberately raw shooting style, with frequent anti-aesthetic zooms, does not convince much, the almost natural photography, with beautiful shifts towards cold colors, strikes a lot for the realistic grip it gives to the story, underlined moreover by a suggestive original soundtrack signed by the group Fall on Your Sword.
Obviously, the strong point of "Another Earth" is the screenplay, written by Cahill along with the lead actress Brit Marling. The film talks about guilt and pain, a pain more understood in an inner sense than in a physical sense. John loses his wife and young son, Rhoda loses her freedom, dignity, her future, and the will to live. Both characters are afflicted by the loss of something extremely important and perhaps all because of the mirror planet, which at some point becomes the cause and effect of every event. Earth 2 is a specular dimension to ours, there is a double of every human being, who has the same name and profession as their respective ones on Earth 1. But is it possible that the course of events on the two planets is independent of each other at the moment when the respective inhabitants become aware of the presence of the double? "Another Earth" at some point poses this curious question and from here develops the search for an escape from the nightmare, of a possible second chance to remedy the tragic errors of fate. The characters of Rhoda and John are written very well, never minimally banal and entirely credible in their acting and behavior.
The initial lack of communication between the two (but also between Rhoda and her family) is indicative and propaedeutic to the evolution of events. Rhoda decides to literally clean up the mess for which she considers herself responsible by putting order in John's home, gradually replacing his deceased companion.
To make the two protagonists credible and human, the actors also contribute a lot, William Mapother (who someone will remember as the mysterious Ethan in the series "Lost") and above all the almost debutante Brit Marling, who gives an incredible fragility to her Rhoda.
"Another Earth" won the special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011. A small film that deserves attention and success because a beautiful and simple idea has given rise to a complex and intelligent film… and this should not be underestimated!
To watch.
