Interstellar

Ivan Avila and Jonathan Galdamez

Interstellar is a science-fiction film directed by Christopher Nolan, best known for directing the Dark Knight trilogy and Inception. The movie stars Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, and Michael Caine.

Interstellar is set in the future, when humanity is threatened by the near destruction of earth.  A group of skilled explorers take on the most important expedition in human history, which will ultimately save humanity if successful. The group of explorers go beyond our galaxy in search of a new possible home for humanity.

Matthew McConaughey plays Cooper, the protagonist of the story. Cooper is a farmer with two children, Murphy (referred to as Murph) and Tom. Murph has been having experiences with a “ghost” in her room– which turns out to be some sort of anomaly communicating with them through gravitational waves. These gravity messages lead Cooper to a NASA operation near his farm which is run by Professor John Brand (Michael Caine). Professor Brand explains that a wormhole has been opened and he believes that other intelligent beings are signaling humans where other habitable planets can be found. NASA had already sent some astronauts to some of these possible habitable planets, and these astronauts have been collecting data.  Cooper is then asked to pilot the interstellar ship Endurance and go retrieve the data. If the data shows the planet can sustain life, humanity will follow in space ships.

Cooper is hesitant to accept the offer to pilot the spacecraft due to the fact that he does not want to leave his children; time is relative in space. Time is perceived differently, in another dimension, an hour there could be years on Earth. But Cooper realizes that if he does not leave, his children will not have a chance to grow up given that Earth and all of humanity will die. So he decides to go.

The rest of the film is about his journey to these planets and the multiple problems he encounters. The main problem is time. How long until, or if, he sees his kids again?  The end of the movie is definitely a mind-trip, one that leaves the viewer completely blown away.

Again, Christopher Nolan does not disappoint. This movie comes highly recommended especially if you enjoy science fiction movies. Interstellar was a great film overall.