Interstellar

I’ve been toying with, or rather resisting, writing about Interstellar, because it’s just so ‘ínter’ on so many issues beyond just stars. I loved it, not just for my sheer love and fascination for anything to do with space, but also because Christopher Nolan has broken so many barriers in there, between Physics and Philosophy, Emotion and Science, Space..Time and Relationships.

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About space itself, he’s brought in those complex concepts of black holes, time distortions, worm holes and space warps into easy grasp, without our needing to know too much about the theory of relativity or quantum mechanics, though knowing would add value I'm sure.

And then, unlike most other space movies, he brings in the humane elements of relationships, emotions, want, interwoven with or rather, beyond the existing space and time dimensions. 

I read somewhere that the movie is a cultural event, and I tend to agree. It is like a potential cultural shift. And what’s amazing is that none of it seems improbable, it all sounds like it could happen, and we just haven’t yet broken through the how of it. If Gravity was a visual thriller, a virtual space experience,  this one is that plus a real mind bender. 

I’m not going into what the story line is, and how the movie unfolds, but just into instances or rather concepts in the movie which really caught my attention.

The communication through gravity and morse code, which Matthew McConaughey is using to communicate with his daughter from a parallel universe, and how she senses and recognizes it.  It's complete acceptance of it as real. She knows it as a Ghost, and I like how she has absolutely no fear. As when you 'know' there is no fear. I’ve always been piqued by the ability to talk beyond the existing space time dimension, as in telepathy or through the Ouija board, one across space and the other across time. All possibilities. 

While the movie is about space, the underlying theme is still love. And it explores love from such different angles, love that literally transcends time, where the experience of varying levels of gravity on different planets, has the father younger than the daughter. How does this love translate when the ages get reversed? Does love for a daughter differ from love for a mother, is it irrespective of age? Is it a person to person equation or is it more of role play? Interesting thoughts there.

The part where he folds the paper to show how the worm hole works. A simple explanation to shift from a linear dimension of time to breaking the time barrier. The analogy of climbing up a mountain into the future, and climbing down into the past. Enables such an easy understanding of how space and time are dimensions as grasped by the mind.

How he sneaks in the idea that nothing is co-incidence but that there could be a much larger design at work. Like the way Matthew McConaughey lands at the NASA station when he’s neither looking for them nor they for him, yet he's their guy. Yet again when he’s lost in space and the rangers find and rescue him. Is it his 'will' connecting to the intelligence of the universe?

Not to miss out TARS, he was so up there with his comic relief and spoof on human frailties.

Thank You Christopher Nolan, I thought it was a spectacular experience, the journey into outer space, into parallel universes, that bit surreal and sublime and that bit possible. Am hoping to catch it again, knowing I’ll see more when I do…as one is want to do in a good book :)