Watch Spaceman on Netflix // Buy the book (paid link)
Written by: Jaroslav Kalfar (based on the book "Spaceman of Bohemia" by), Colby Day (screenplay by)
Directed by: Johan Renck
Starring: Adam Sandler, Carey Mulligan, Paul Dano
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
Half a year into his solo mission on the edge of the solar system, an astronaut concerned with the state of his life back on Earth is helped by an ancient creature he discovers in the bowels of his ship.
Verdict
This movie is less about plot and more about mood. It's a rumination on relationships. Jakub is successful at his job but at the cost of his relationship. As his destination in space looms closer, everyone he knows gets farther away on Earth. We see Jakub's life through an outsider, but it ends up just being a redemption arc which feels cheap. This movie lets Jakub win with almost no sacrifice. The ending would have so much more impact if Jakub had to forfeit or face a loss.
Skip it.
Review
This isn't a genre I typically associate with Sandler. While I haven't enjoyed his recent comedies like The Week Of or Murder Mystery, his dramas Uncut Gems and Hustle are worth watching.
It seems unlikely a space program would send Jakub Procházka (Adam Sandler) that far into space alone. The movie highlights this during a broadcast when a child asks him about being the loneliest man in the world and so far away. You'd think he'd go stir crazy all alone in a small shuttle. That and there's no redundancy if something happened to him. Ground control is screening his messages as his wife Lenka (Carey Mulligan) wants to split up. They're concerned it could unravel Jakub and in turn the mission.
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| Adam Sandler plays Jakub Procházka |
Jakub is surprised to find a spider-like creature in the ship. Where is it from, and how did it get on the ship? Somehow the creature doesn't alert any of the sensors on the ship. Ground control never sees it. Afraid at first, Jakub eventually befriends the creature and names it Hanuš.
Hanuš wants to study and understands humans. A lot of the movie is the two of them exploring Jakub's memories. Somehow they both experience them, and I wondered if this was some sort of hallucination. We haven't gotten an explanation for how this creature is on board. Hanuš becomes disillusioned with Jakub and humans. They're selfish and short sighted.
There's not a lot of plot, just an intriguing dynamic between Jakub and Hanuš.I wonder what's real because this seems outlandish, all of it. Even at the end, a hallucination seems plausible.
There's the artifice of Jakub's actual relationship and what ground control broadcasts to create an idyllic bond that doesn't exist. The reality is he sacrificed his marriage for success in space. This isn't a movie in the traditional sense. It's a study on what constitutes failure and success. I'd like it more if this didn't conclude with a trim and neat ending that's too happy for what we're told are the faults with humans. Jakub manages to win everything which seems antithetical to what we've been presented.
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