The Hopeful Nihilism Of AD ASTRA (Film Analysis)
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- Опубліковано 23 сер 2020
- With a divisive voice-over, peerless visuals and a cosmos of longing distance - "Ad Astra" questions if and where God fits into our chaotic, cold universe.
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#adastra - Фільми й анімація
I know some of you loved and some of you loathed this science fiction thought provoker, but I for one was completely bowled over by it. Also - while I think the video communicates this well enough - I have absolutely no ill will towards peaceful, equality minded belief in any religious discipline.
Thanks so much for taking the time out of your day to check out yet another one of my videos. If you could like, subscribe, comment, share on social media/reddit and hit the bell - that helps so much when it comes to the almighty UA-cam Algorithm and getting these videos in front of more eyes.
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IFO x
Another great video. I'm glad for your perspective in it, and to see you address that some people hate this movie, because I've been getting somewhat conflicting reports from people whose opinions I respect. Just wondering, have you seen (or read) Aniara?
Aniara was one of my honourable mentions for 2019 - I absolutely loved it
@@inframeout excellent, I haven't made it to that video yet, still bingeing through. Excellent work, IFO.
I remember seeing this movie in theaters and being totally immersed and engrossed in it.
I love this film but didn't know why until your analysis. Being an uneducated middle-aged man with no achievements behind him and no future in front, your final words in the review brought me some comfort. Just allow yourself to live. Thank you.
Sometimes finding the status quo and just allowing yourself the peace to move from day to day is an enormous achievement in and if itself
Don't feel bad about it. There are men and women out there who have achievements and fame but are far from happy. Their bank balances are full but their lives are empty.
Theory: What if we, humanity, are actually the first intelligent species in the universe? That in millions or billions of years we are the ones reaching out to future intelligent species? We would be like the mysterious higher beings in 2001 Space Odyssey and Contact.
I really don’t know whether I prefer the mantle of that responsibility or the comfort of us not being alone
Ive been saying this for awhile. I think life is out there because it would be statistically a joke to believe otherwise, but the number of factors for intelligent life like us assuming it even behaves like us, to evolve much less survive into becoming an advanced civilization is is high. In the grand scheme of the universe things are still pretty young, but I think we're the first of our kind. Anything else like us is either so advanced as to be incomprehensible to us, or too far away to ever meet. I think people struggle with this because people want to believe there's something greater than us, similar to religion. It's comforting in a way. But we're all we have, and we should push our way into the stars. Nobody else will
It is also likely that they are with us right now, but we won't find them for the next million years until light from them reach us. Being alone by force.
There's also the possibility we are the last survivors of a once thriving comos, on the great arc of life we are at the end rather than the beginning.
Though we can take some small comfort in knowing that once existence reaches its grand conclusion, it all just starts over again.
If we are, in fact, the masters of all existence, I can only apologise in advance for the actions we are sure to take in repeating our own history on a galactic scale.
It's far better that we are alone.
@@noaheast7600I share this exact opinion/theory. Perhaps we’re the first civilization of sentient beings to rise, with endless progress to follow us into the eons. The question is development and the distances that must be overcome to find out.
It's not without it's flaws, but it really does reward repeated viewings. The score is great. It makes a good double feature with Apocalypse Now.
Oh absolutely - those two films are clear spiritual siblings
@@inframeout @_goldfarb_ And it would just as well make a good double feature with The Tree of Life.
I love how this is a movie that addresses the what if we are alone.
I'll confess I wasn't a big Ad Astra fan when I first saw it (didn't hate it, just more lukewarm on it) but this has definitely given me a greater appreciation for the film. I think a lot of the backlash to the film comes from the tone. While it has visuals and acting talent on par with other recent space flicks like Interstellar, Gravity, or The Martian, it doesn't share their same temperament. Equally "ridiculous" and "illogical" things happen in those movies, but I think their tone is also generally more approachable for an audience, and so people look to the plot for reasons as to why they didn't like the film, when actually it was more a problem of style.
That was beautiful. Ad Astra was a true piece of art.
Okay, Alan Partridge. This wins. Immediately.
“Jet from Gladiators to host a millennium barn dance at Yeovil aerodrome. Properly policed. It must not, I repeat not, turn into an all-night rave.”
@@inframeout A man of culture
This video really helped contextualize the movie for me. I was left really wondering what I was supposed to feel about what I just saw. But it never registered as a critique of faith. I thought Pitt’s performance conveyed apathy more than anything else so that put me off of the experience. But in the end I told myself, “I didn’t enjoy this but I want to see more films like it.”
The Tree of Life
is similar in the way it is also a pensive movie about facing what shaped you, how your life journey turned out the way it did, how you related to those around you, and to reconciling yourself with an estranged and emotionally distant father. No space travel, just a stream of episodic memories, and even more stream of consciousness voice over.
Solaris
(the Tarkovsky version) is similar to Ad Astra, as it also deals with a pursuit of the unknown but leads back to an examination of past trauma. It does have space, the plot and setting are even more mysterious and wondrous, the style even more meditative and slow burning and vague. If you prefer a more mystery/thriller styled approach and/or want to get the plot mapped out first and out of the way in order to be able to lean into the symbolism of the Tarkovsky version better without being distracted by trying to keep track of the plot - watch the Soderbergh version first (or read the even more brainy, philosophical, humanity exploring novel by Stanislaw Lem)
Apocalypse Now
is very similar in plot structure to Ad Astra, it also deals with a protagonist who is sent on a similar mission, and who also has to face a person who has gone ahead on a path that might lead to the protagonist's destruction (whether he decides to keep following in his foot steps or not): A dilemma. But it is a rather mundane war movie with little in the way of spiritual implications. The novel it is based on, Heart of Darkness, is very similar in plot and themes, but it is a bit closer to Ad Astra because it does also have a colonial backdrop - not merely a more or less generic war scenario such as in Apocalypse Now.
2001: A Space Odyssey
is most similar in visual style to Ad Astra, and it is also about a lonely deep space journey to explore and research signs of a higher power, but the movie is way more esoteric in nature and the one I got the least out of in terms of meaning, although it is visually most stunning.
i personally loved Ad Astra, having found refuge in sci-fi since childhood, and having been different from those who surround me, (not neuro-typical) though not quite as depressed as this Roy. his success of finally connecting made some sci-fi fans dislike the film; the grandiose telescoping back to the "merely personal". but the essence of a 'god-less universe', or a universe of entropy, not design, becomes a search for personal meaning and connections. most of the faithful cannot lose this centre without damage, rather than healing. like an addict needing a new drug, or addiction. Roy finds his zen in a "barren" universe. i dig it...
I haven't seen the movie but the message at the end is how I've lived my life since I was 12. There is no God but Man.
ngl I watched this and then checked the sub count and was totally expecting over one million at least. Keep it up.
Grey is probably the most underrated director in America today, along with Kelly Reichard.... Great video, Thanx!!!
"The Lost City Of Z" is one of the most critically under viewed great movies of the last decade
II will always hold this movie in high regard. And replay it time and time again. As one of the best( psi=fi) movies ever made. Its stunning. And Im watching it again in 2023. When things in the world aint so good.
The one dislike is Eddie Redmayne
I was pretty disappointed with interstellar but ad astra made me feel so many different things. The score was one of my favorites.
@Adam Zinger i agree
I wish there was a film like Ad Astra but more scientifically accurate and without so much CGI. This film is so dumb at times but I cannot stop thinking about it.
@@oneiroagentSimilar in mood, only partly in theme, also set to a space-faring backdrop, but without the sci-fi part, and scientifically accurate: "Lucy in the Sky". Best to be watched first without knowing anything about it. It would make for a good double feature to screen it right before "Ad Astra".
I think ‘majestic nihilism’ is existential despair in disguise.
Another great piece, thank you for this channel. I'm not sure how I'd feel about this movie if I'd watched it outside the context that I did, but it was one of the brighter moments of an otherwise bleak summer. I spent those months helping my dad care for my mom before she passed in August. I didn't see him much as a kid, they got back together right before high school, and I'd seen him only a handful of times the past 20 years. He was trying to take care of her by himself but that wasn't a good thing for either of them. He has little patience for complaining, and she was in a ton of pain. I heard and saw a lot of things I wish I could rewind and erase, but I guess that's life though. I'm grateful that I had the time and ability to be there for her, and him too. Even though he's hurt me, I love him. He's human. He's experienced some messed up things too, and that's not an excuse for him to be absent, but it's reason enough for me to try to understand. I've struggled with mental health, and I know it runs in his side of the family. I'm one of them, and I have my own kids now who struggle with some of the same stuff. So I can push it away or try to understand and heal so the cycle doesn't keep repeating.
It was about a week before she went into the hospital for the last time, I came home to see my wife and boys for a few days before heading back. I was exhausted from trying to be my mom's nurse, my dad's therapist, and the marriage counselor they both needed long before one them had to rely on the other to stay alive. I put this movie on, and when it was over it felt like I had experienced therapy. I felt actual relief from everything. I'll never forget that.
Anyway, again, I'm loving your work. I'm realizing how many Brad Pitt movies I love. I loved the Time Cops video, any chance of a deeper look into 12 Monkeys or other Gilliam films?
Wow. Thank you so much for sharing your powerful, deeply personal story with is. It's amazing how soothing a film can be to an otherwise disruptive, damaging period. When you can take something this that positive away from a film - you know you're into something special.
"12 Monkeys" or maybe "Brazil" are definitely some things I'd like to touch on further down the road
@@inframeout I look forward to it!
@@inframeoutBrazil is one of my favourite movies, and used to be my favourite Gilliam movie, but Tideland has caught up with it, so these two are my favourites by him now. Brazil is visually more captivating, but Tideland took me on a journey that touched me deeper on an emotional level. His Baron Munchausen movie is the one that might be the most conventional one of his movies, but it is one of the most stunning and best straight adaptations of a pre-existing story that I have ever seen put to the screen. Gilliam has a style of his own that is irreplicateable. I would much appreciate a video essay on any Gilliam movie!
I really enjoyed it. The third viewing especially.
I liked this but what do i know, i still prefer Blade runner with the voice over. That's the version i saw in at the cinema an i still hear it in my head when watching.
Absolutely loved this movie. Like many others here, it just spoke to me.
Watching it with both my parents (my father having had a very strained and complicated relationship with his own father, my grandfather), was a very gratifing and interesting movie going experience i´d change for nothing. Its certainly far from the next Interestellar, and i think many people should give it another go if possible, as its better to tackle it without certain expectations. While im on the side of thinking it is a good movie, nonetheless I also believe there are certain aspects and parts of it that don't quite do it for me (the chimp scene, while suspensful could have been handled a little bit more clearly) and the way Roy saves himself by using a scrap of the rocket i felt was awful and totally broke the ending for me. All that said, its still a good movie and specially worth it to watch it in a theater. Great video as always!!!!
I totally agree with that final escape sequence being unforgivably stupid and completely out of touch with the mood of the rest of the film.
The relationship between father and son - for reasons I shan't go in to - hit very close to home for me as well. I'm so glad you liked it, and I'm overjoyed you liked my video on the subject
Thanks for sharing. That was beautiful.
Thinking is very overated, you can think all your life about something without ever coming close to reality of that exact thing. It is seemingly a very alien tool given to an animal. Mind has an incredible ability of an illusion of understanding. All our life we are searching for ourselves, but it is almost impossible to accept that.
*Thinking is rubbish,* *_and rubbish isn't cool._*
ua-cam.com/video/1yho6TNJJ4k/v-deo.html
Brilliant
Just loved this film
Beautiful analysis for a beautiful movie.
SUPREMELY quality content.
Thank you so much
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:
This section *introduces the video and the theme of nihilism in the film Ad Astra.*
The video *asks the question of what happens after we die and suggests that there may be nothing.*
It also *discusses the two biggest questions of all: is there a god and is anybody else out there?*
This section *discusses the biblical subtext of the film Ad Astra.*
It compares *the plot of the film to the story of Moses and suggests that Roy McBride is a modern-day Moses.*
The section *also discusses the theme of fatherhood and the relationship between Roy and his father, Clifford McBride.*
This section *discusses the futility of prayer in the film Ad Astra.*
It shows *how characters in the film pray to a higher power, but never receive any answers.*
The section *also discusses the theme of entropy and the idea that the universe is indifferent to human suffering.*
This section *discusses Roy's struggle with faith in the film Ad Astra.*
It shows *how Roy is a devout man who has been raised to believe in God.*
However, the *events of the film cause him to question his faith and to wonder if there is anything beyond this life.*
This section *discusses the meaninglessness of death in the film Ad Astra.*
It shows *how characters in the film die without any ceremony or fanfare.*
The section *also discusses the theme of nihilism and the idea that life is ultimately meaningless.*
This section *discusses Roy's escape from nihilism in the film Ad Astra.*
It shows *how Roy begins to question his beliefs and to find meaning in his own life.*
The section *also discusses the theme of hope and the idea that there is still good in the world.*
This section *discusses the accompanying musical score in the film Ad Astra.*
It suggests *that the score helps to create a sense of despair and hopelessness.*
However, the *score also has moments of hope and redemption.*
[07:54] 🎶 *[Section key takeaway] The film's electronic music gradually fades to a more organic and hopeful sound as Roy's perspective shifts from religious to humanistic.*
[08:23] 👨👦 *[Section key takeaway] Roy's estranged father reveals his deep disillusionment with humanity and his belief that true happiness can only be found through self-destruction.*
[09:04] 💔 *[Section key takeaway] Roy's father's death liberates him from his existential despair and leads him to a hopeful nihilism, where he embraces the responsibility for his own existence.*
[09:49] ✨ *[Section key takeaway] The film concludes with a message of hope, suggesting that the universe's lack of design is actually a source of wonder and that spirituality can exist without the need for a rigid belief system.*
Made with HARPA AI
We are created by the Universe to percieve itself, though we deny it.
I'm a Christian and I just watched this movie. Now I'm no fan of nihilism, which is depressing by itself, but I find this movie is about man's search for meaning, and finding none staring in the void.
If you see Nihilism depressing, you don’t understand the freedom behind it.
There's plenty of meaning to be found by looking within rather than constantly reaching outward.
Why look for the "father" that doesn't wish to be found, rather become that father for someone else instead.
“Allowing yourself to live”
Great video
It was obvious from the beginning. The New Frontier is always Human Interconnectivity. Praise G-d
I loved it.
"Where shall a man find sweetness to surpass his own home and his family? In far lands he shall not, though he find a house of gold." --The Odyssey, as translated by Robert Fitzgerald
I really like your predilection for declaring movies spiritual relatives. "8mm is a sequel to Se7en, Lost City of Z and Ad Astra are brothers, obviously"
So much potential in this film but it really lost me with the space monkeys and Futurama moon scene complete with moon bandits. It really felt like the director wanted to tell a story and the studio just kept saying "needs more action!"
I can totally understand that dissonance between the thoughtful and the sillier aspects of the film that feel like studio mandates more than essential components of the narrative
*_Life cannot find reasons to sustain it, cannot be a source of decent mutual regard, unless each of us resolves to breathe such qualities into it._* [from "Heretics of Dune" by Frank Herbert] I can say in all honesty that whether you believe in a god (or gods) is a personal matter which should not - *_must not_* - interfere with your ability to grow up. If it does, it's doing both you and the rest of us a grave disservice. The adroitly religious often speak of morality. But where is the morality in judging and even hurting others in the name of God? That would be my definition of blasphemy. If humanity is to survive, it must mature. Whether you think of yourself as a child of God, or a 'merely' a child of your parents, all parents want the same thing for their children: for them to be healthy & happy, to get along, and to grow up into someone to be proud of. Join us when you're ready. tavi.
Oh well, you just threw 3000 years of theology in the garbage. You'll gain nothing by embracing "new world" thinking.
@@sr.cosmos4543 That 3000 year history would have you believe that morality only comes through theology. Wrong. And the morality of many 'theologies' (religions) has led to some of the worst human behavior, from wars (the Crusades, etc.) to the Inquisition. God is (apparently) always telling one people to go kill another. Bunk. My morality is simple: Mind your own business; don't harm others; help whenever you can; be kind & respectful; don't take what doesn't belong to you. That's about it. If the Christian West behaved that way, I'd be much more impressed. I grew up in the church, and I've spent a lifetime exposed to them. I know how they think. And you know what? They're actually getting worse! That's a very bad sign. Here in America, there's a real chance of them throwing in with the extreme alt-right, and creating fascist, religious, corporate state. tavi.
Excellent analysis. Thank you. I loved the movie and the symbolism and yet I was disappointed by it. Your analysis brought better clarity.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I just watched this movie in disney+, and i can relate how this movie filosofi with my life.
I am suffer from meaninglessness of this life.
I love this movie, but never knew why. Rewatched today but I had forgot the association witch ancestor cults, fathers and our image of god. That was the catch.
Like your comments very much
If I go by narration only Pitt's (Ad Astra) is so much better than Ford's (Blade Runner).
I thought I was a lone voice in an ocean of haters. Pretty much everyone I know hates Ad Astra. As a huge fan of 2001 and pretty much every first contact movie I've watched from well known movies like Contact and Arrival to low budget movies like 2036 Origin Unknown, Alien Code and Magellan I pretty much love them all. Well, almost. I thought that Interstellar while trying to be emotional was in fact quite souless. I felt as if Nolan was almost force feeding the feels.
Ad Astra though has probably hit me harder than any of them. I've seen so many people call the ending anti-climactic. There's no Trippy portal, no gateway to another galaxy or dimension, no aliens or inter-dimensional beings. And for me that anti-climactic ending was in itself a thunderbolt out of the blue.
It's the only sci-fi movie that I can recall that is about intelligent aliens without any aliens at all and posits the valid question: What if in reality there is effectively nobody out there?
Even if the universe is infinitely large meaning that there definitely are an infinite number of intelligent civilisations out there, intelligent life perhaps is so rare that even an infinite number of intelligent species is each locked in it's own observable constantly expanding universe and never able to make contact with another. Moving ever further and further away from each other.
What if to all intents and purposes we truly are all alone? Truly isolated.
Nobody else for billions, perhaps even trillions of light years in every direction. Yet despite our yearning for someone, anyone out there, we're unable to even establish healthy relationships with the only other intelligent beings we will ever know: each other.
Love this movie
Same. I feel like it gets far too much criticism for the voice over and not enough love for all it does so well
The space baboon is ridiculous
I'm somewhat reminded of The Outer Wilds by Mobius Digital.
If you haven't played it, I would highly recommend it.
I can't even really explain why I think some of it's themes are relevant here without spoiling some really interesting moments of realisation in the game.
And also because I am woefully unable to do it justice in writing.
Please play this absolute masterpiece.
If you're still unconvinced, watch Errant Signal's video which contains minor spoilers ua-cam.com/video/aI__M3Wt6cc/v-deo.html
Thanks for this lovely essay!
At 10:00 "the blissful affirmation that Nature is not designed." Except for the codified information that drives Nature. Or in the words of Fred Hoyle, "A commonsense interpretation of the facts suggests that a superintellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as chemistry and biology, and that there are no blind forces worth speaking about in nature."
Can you cover aniara?
That film is tremendous and made my honourable mention of 2019 video
@@inframeout it’s seriously one of my all time favorite movies ever and it gets little to no love. There are no analysis of it on UA-cam and only 2-4 very surface level reviews. You paint a tremendously vivid picture as a word smith so I would love to hear you break it down into all the small facets of symbolism it represents.
I loved it. There's a desperate, drifting loneliness to it all that mirrors the pillars of grief and fatalistic philosophy. Did you see "High Life"? I'd say the two films are kindred spirits
God damn
There is no god. People have god because they are afraid of death. Everything is energy all matter and it can't never die.
Talk about depressing
reaching like crazy
If you don't like "Ad Astra" you either will never enjoy or understand the stories of a veteran or war or are just too narrow minded to listen. You are all missing the point; in the military interior monologue is literally all we have 95% of the time. People either don't care or don't need to hear your thoughts in combat, just do your job and shut the hell up. We all walk around showing zero emotion... Just like the main character. The movie asks the same questions a scared soldier does; Is there a point? Is there hope? Do I even want to go home after what I know now??? Will people judge me? People will never know the *truth* . Am i doing the right thing? How can there possibly be a god allowing all of this...??? All questions asked by ad astra and combat troops. Duh. 20 years of a 2 front war and you people still never think about the veterans...😞 Semper Fidelis
Oh they remember them, when it is in their interest.
For Votes.
For Holidays.
For when the next war needs to be sold.
But until then, we just shelve them and forget them . Because in America, Money is the final reason.
For War.
For Peace.
For arming out warriors with the best.
For giving our warriors the bare minimum once broken.
Support Our Troops is meant to be more than a bumper sticker.
Speaking of war and interior monologue: Have you ever watched (or read) "Johnny Got His Gun"?
I don't think that is the most accurate interpretation of the film. It seems more like a criticism of trans-humanism. As the protagonist and everyone else depicted gets further from the earth, they lose their humanity, including their religion; the father becomes the most distant man and most nihilistic, destroying the earth itself on the basis of his freedom from moral constraints. It is only when our protagonist in a sense gazes back upon the earth that he acquires his humanity.
"Roy replaces the confines of religion . . . . .with humanism" No. We don't have an agenda with our critiques. Not at all.
What? What is my supposed agenda?
It's better that this guy was pretty blatant with his ideological sympathies rather than subtly sneaking them in. It makes for a better video even if I disagree with it.
Yes, with you answer you won. Defeated the evil youtuber and showed the world you were right. Your prize will be delivered shortly.
The whole idea of "god" is so fundamentally absurd, i don't understand how anyone ever bought into such nonsense.
God is an abstract mirror of the concept of a parent. I guess the idea of God being above in power and being open to appeal can be a strongly soothing coping mechanism for those suffering abuse from their parents and no-one else to look out for them and offer help or protection against them. It is also a concept that can be used like a self-fulfilling prophecy if you use it as a rallying cry to establish solidarity against those you feel oppressed by. Before states and laws and constitutions, which other concept was there to escape the totalitarian ownership of children by their parents?
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
2 The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Psalm 14:1-3
You have it all wrong man. But good try.
Sounds like a pretty angry and jaded guy. Very cool movie, but the atheism was obvious in it as well.
Also obvious is that we've been created and our world also. Just in case it wasn't extraordinarily clear and you're maybe in the same camp as this guy, I could help explain it for you, if you're actually open minded. It's not that complicated really.
i hate the narration of this film.
i mean this movie was fine... but seriously. its all operatic and artsy for the first part. then out of nowhere.... killer monkeys.