Another Earth By Mike Cahill

The film tells a story of a bright young astrophysicist-to-be Rhoda, who crashes her car, killing two and leaving one victim in a coma, parallel to the other plotline about the appearance of a duplicate Earth. Instead of images of shiny spaceships being launched and global celebrations after the first contact Another Earth features several slow and aesthetically pleasing scenes where the light shines through the blonde hair of the protagonist, illuminating the dance of the dust speckles in the air. The Second Earth remains a distant background presence in strikingly beautiful shots of Rhoda walking home from work on the seashore and stopping to catch a glimpse of the Second Earth.

However, the Second Earth does not remain only a strikingly beautiful background prop. Even though the physical presence of the planet is the only sci-fi element which can be found in the movie, the existential questions raised by the emergence of a duplicate planet are philosophical and thought-provoking, resembling those raised by both Solaris (1972) and The Matrix (1999). What would you say if you met yourself? “Better luck next time,” is Rhoda’s answer. Which of you is the shadow and who is the prisoner in the Plato’s cave of life? Another Earth offers an emotionally engaging and visually stunning insight into post-tragedy life while shaking up stale genre stereotypes.

By Pirjo Leek