Interstellar

“𝓓𝓸 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓰𝓸 𝓰𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓵𝓮 𝓲𝓷𝓽𝓸 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓰𝓸𝓸𝓭 𝓷𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽. 𝓡𝓪𝓰𝓮, 𝓻𝓪𝓰𝓮 𝓪𝓰𝓪𝓲𝓷𝓼𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓭𝔂𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽.”  I don't think I have enough words in my vocabulary to describe how much I adore this movie. It's hard to explain why I love it as much as I do, or how much it means to me. Interstellar is by far my favorite movie of all time. But it's more than just a movie, it's a piece of art that lingers in my mind every time I rewatch it. No matter how many times I experience this absolute masterpiece, it always leaves me feeling emotional and transported to another realm. There's nothing else like it, nothing else makes me feel the way Interstellar does. It might sound exaggerated, but it's truly something exceptional. No other experience replicates this feeling. This isn't just Christopher Nolan's best work, it's the greatest work of any medium. I can talk about this movie for hours, but I struggle to find the right words. My thoughts tend to wander, and I lose focus because there's just so much to say. If I try to start talking about it, my mind will drift off, and will get lost in it for hours. This movie brings me immense happiness, but it also makes me sad because I know I'll never experience anything like it again. Christopher Nolan will never create anything quite like this, and neither will any other director. Despite Interstellar being my favorite movie of all time, I've never written a full-length review of it, even though I've always wanted to. Now that I'm rewatching Christopher Nolan's films, I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to finally do it. However, I struggle to find the right words. I fear my limited vocabulary might not do justice to this masterpiece, but I'll try my best. By the end of this review, I hope to have something comprehensive that captures why and how much I admire this movie. Back in February of this year, I had the absolute pleasure of watching Interstellar on the big screen, and it was an unparalleled experience. Seeing this visually stunning film on a huge screen, with Dolby Atmos speakers enhancing the sound, was incredible. This movie was made for the theater experience, and it wasn't until then that I finally got to see it in a theater setting. It remains, without a doubt, my favorite theater experience to date. Now I’ve rewatched it yet again at home. Where do I even begin? Interstellar marks the beginning of an incredible collaboration between cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema and director Christopher Nolan. In my previous reviews of Nolan's films, I've often expressed how much I missed Wally Pfister's work. However, the partnership between Hoytema and Nolan has proven to be exceptional. While Pfister's career has taken a different path, a new and incredible partnership was born with Hoytema, and it's likely for the best because his work on Interstellar is nothing short of astounding. I've previously written about Hoytema's beautiful work on Oppenheimer, but his first collaboration with Nolan on Interstellar stands out as truly stunning. The way they capture the space sequences is simply breathtaking. Whether it's the ultrawide distanced shots that capture the tiny, minuscule size of the spacecraft against the vast emptiness of space or the overwhelming scale of a massive, ginormous planet, this movie handles scale like no other. Many modern films tend to focus on flashy CGI camera angles, often losing the sense of scale, but Interstellar excels in this aspect. The use of mounted camera angles on the ship creates a sense of authenticity, making it feel like real footage of a spacecraft traveling through space. The visual effects are outstanding, and the choices made in camera placement, thanks to Hoytema's incredible talent, add a fascinating dimension to the film. Even the shots back on Earth are breathtakingly beautiful. One of the remarkable aspects of Christopher Nolan's movies is that they're all shot on film, which gives them deep, rich colors and profound blacks. The color grading and lighting work is phenomenal, highlighting that distinct aesthetic often seen in Nolan's films. Every time they show Cooper's farm on Earth, the visuals are stunning. The corn crops and the vibrant colors are simply fascinating, adding to the film's overall beauty. The score by the incredible Hans Zimmer is one of the best, if not the best, I've ever heard in a movie. It's truly unique. Zimmer's ability to build tension with the constant ticking sound is spectacular, perfectly enhancing the intensity of key scenes. The iconic theme is grand and euphoric, leaving me awed every time. The orchestration is phenomenal. It's one of my favorite scores, and Hans Zimmer is undoubtedly one of my favorite composers of all time. Interstellar is packed with anxiety filled and intense moments. The movie is masterful at building tension, keeping me on the edge of my seat. However, at its core, it's also a deeply emotional film. It balances grand, cinematic experiences with a heartfelt story, and it moves me like no other movie can. The emotional weight of scenes, such as a father returning to find his daughter older than him, is amazing. How can you not be moved by that? This emotional depth is something Christopher Nolan consistently achieves in his films, and in Interstellar, it's like no other. The combination of its grand scale and emotional moments is incredible. Several scenes in Interstellar fill me with an almost existential crisis and anxiety because of the vast scale and haunting infinity of space, with all its endless possibilities. Yet, I can't help but be astonished by its beauty. The depiction of Gargantua, the black hole, is gorgeous and offers a fantastic way to showcase such a phenomenon on screen, both haunting and stunning.  And of course, it wouldn’t be a Christopher Nolan movie without the typical Nolanisms you see in most of his films. He loves to play with time, reverse it, slow it it, bend it, and it’s no different here in Interstellar. His usual mind-bending moments are present. Which is probably one of my favorite aspects of Nolan’s movies. However, Christopher Nolan’s movies are never too convoluted or confusing. They are never so complex that you can’t understand them. They are always cohesive, perhaps with the exception of Tenet. I just love the whole story of Interstellar. The Tesseract, Gargantua, and all these fascinating aspects really make me think and evoke a special feeling that I can’t quite describe. The concept of the mysterious “they”, these beings thought to be humans from the future who can manipulate gravity and use it to help others through the space continuum, is so complex yet so captivating. Cooper being the “ghost” this whole time and helping his daughter solve the equation through that is a brilliant twist. Despite its complexity, Interstellar never reaches overly unrealistic sci-fi levels. It’s set in an alternative world where Earth is dying, creating a narrative that feels both profound and grounded. The sci-fi elements are quite abstract and ambiguous.    Interstellar is 3 hours long, yet I don’t feel that runtime at all. It’s edited with such precision that it flies by, feeling shorter than most movies. Yesterday, I watched Deadpool and Wolverine, which is barely 2 hours long, but it felt longer and more tedious in every way. Good editing really makes a significant difference in pacing and how the length of a movie feels. I hope I’ve described and explained why I’m so attached to and admiring of Interstellar. I hope my review does the movie justice, though I have some doubts. And at the end of the day what this movie is truly about and what it’s trying to entail is that love transcends space and time and it’s ultimately a father daughter story wrapped in a trippy intense cosmic masterpiece.