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I've recently watched Claire Denis' High Life. I have seen her movie Beau Travail and loved it, so I thought I would check this one out, especially since I saw the trailer and though it seemed interesting. Besides, I love sci-fi movies set in space and I'm a fan of Pattinson and Binoche. So what do we find here? There's so much to unpack. I didn't expect to love the movie as much as I did, which is always a nice feeling. Denis reminds a lot of Terrence Malick, in that her movies resemble poetry. There's a music and flow to the way the images are constructed together, and it's only after the movie ended that the full scope of her vision hit me. Her movies embody everything I've ever loved about cinema. It's less about a traditional narrative and more about what the visuals make you *feel*, similar to listening to a song or poetry in a foreign language. It's my favorite kind of art, one whose power feels transcendental. I also loved the use of actors here. Denis cast actors who have a presence and aura to them. Pattinson, Binoche, and Goth all have interesting faces. There are a lot of themes and I'm going to attempt to analyze the film but you can tell me if I missed anything. I loved that the movie start with a rather stable situation of father and child, only to go back and show all the chaos that lead to it, giving the situation a whole different context. The movie focuses on a lot of primitive aspects of humanity, such as survival and attempting to create a generation/offspring. These are things that humans must have struggled with many years ago when starting, but Denis shows humans struggling with this in a futuristic setting. It's as if she's saying that we are fragile creatures, and no matter how advanced we become, we can't escape our basic needs and nature, which can be endangered in any minute. There are also themes of self-destruction, shown in the fact that the spaceship is headed towards a blackhole. This is caused by human's unwise curiosity, always wanting to explore the unknown. It also explore exploitation and hypocrisy, as scientists and the government are sending criminal to conduct the experiment. The government themselves commit heinous crimes, but are willing to endanger criminal's lives as they view them as the scum of society. Themes of sexuality are also portrayed, mostly through the lens of repression and gendered power games. Dib's seductive nature is shown through her long hair and how lovingly she takes care of it, as if aware of the power it has on others. She conducts sexual experimentation on the others, in order to try and create an offspring. It's revealed later that she killed her husband and children, which could possibly shine light on what her motivations are for this experiment. Why does she want the experiment to succeed so badly? Does she feel that the child she create could make up for the ones she killed? She's quiet a mysterious character, once cold and harsh, and once gentle and kind. It's hard to know when she's real or not, but it's clear that she's a manipulative person. She tells the others that they are petty thugs, and that her crime is the only one worthy of its name. It makes you wonder if she even feels remorse for what she's done. Later, she rape Monte in order to get his sperm and create the high life she's so set on creating. I appreciated that the movie portrays female on male rape as it isn't represented usually. It also shows how far her obsession goes, and how destructive desire can be. She desires Monte because he's the only one who never asked or desired anything from her. Denis shows the ugliness of human nature, but gives empathetic and universal reasons behind them; a violent yearning we can relate to. I also loved the character of Boyse. She is angry at losing control of her life, and tries to regain power in reckless ways. The scene in which she ejects milk out of her breasts while crying "they got me" was unexpected and disturbing. In her desperation, she decides to make a big statement by driving that car into the black hole. You could see the fear and regret on her face, before it horrifically explode under pressure. A disturbing scene, but also a poetic portrayal of our vanity. The visuals were especially beautiful in that scene. I loved the colors throughout the movie; the use of shadow and dark hue, the red and black, contrasted by golden at the end. It's simply stunning. There's an obsession with bodily fluids in the movie, perhaps to highlight the biological nature that we are at the mercy of, and that desire can be as unsexy as mere chemical reactions and bodily processes. I also like the conversation Monte has with Tcherny, about needing to turn shame into glory, and the selfishness and vanity that can lie behind that. It's clear that the characters no longer see value or purpose on their lives and thus their desires and obsessions gets the best of them. The way they all self-destruct is oddly poetic, and somewhat reminded me of The Virgin's Suicide. Willow as Monte's daughter is easily the most fascinating character. Having been born in space, this is normal life for her. She has no sense of the despairing situation she and her father in, thus able to have a more positive outlook on life. She's also able to be more empathetic. In one scene Monte tells her: " What do you know about cruelty?". She also shows curiosity towards traditions on earth, mimicking the way she saw humans pray. A sarcastic Monte asks her " which God are you praying to?". It's as if Denis is highlighting a gap between a tired older generation, and a newer one unaware of the struggles that came before. Willow and Monte's relationship is the heart of the film, the warmth and tenderness after all the despair and coldness that came before. It's a very touching part of the film, and the ending, with Monte saying "shall we?", felt somehow hopeful and tragic at the same time. The soundtrack choice at the credits was wonderful, too. I didn't expect to leave the film feeling moved. I'm sure there's more to analyze and am curios to read any more thoughts. I wonder if anyone has any idea as to why there were dogs in the other spacecraft. Perhaps a part of an experiment? Anyway, I am definitely checking the rest of Denis' catalogue. She's a genius. [link] [comments] |
source https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/yebo45/i_recommend_high_life_2018_starring_robert/
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