astronaut. “Lazarus,” or Sandler’s sci-fi swan song, is on Netflix [RECENZJA]

Even though he is literally alone on the ship, seemingly the opposite of himself, and on a multi-month (one-way?) journey to a mysterious anomaly in space, Jacob is in no way wrong. The loneliest person in the world, and perhaps in the entire universe, is the pregnant Lenka (Carey Mulligan), Jacob's wife. As it turns out, Procházka has once again left her alone on Earth, and out of frustration at being constantly pushed into the background, she decides to escape from her previous life. Jacob is, above all, an idealist: he assumes that service to the state is more important from the beginning than anything related to land. So she doesn't show up for the next video call, doesn't answer the phone, and consciously disappears, as if evaporating, becoming a ghost in physical form. Will Jacob be able to understand his partial selfishness before it's too late for their relationship? Or maybe there has been no help for her for a long time?

When watching Adam Sandler's latest drama, it's hard not to hear the lyrics LazarosaDavid Bowie's farewell piece. The work corresponds not only in its content to the plot astronaut, but it would also be significant that the film and music video for the song were directed by the same man. In his latest science fiction drama, Johan Renck (Chernobyl, music videos for Bowie and Madonna) examines the case of a man who has not only set himself up for a very likely death in the vastness of the galaxy, but no longer cares about anything. Jacob Sandler is on the verge of a breakdown (the actor oscillates somewhere between disbelief and physical impotence) and somehow doesn't care whether this expedition is a success or his last dance in space. Day by day, little bits of Jacob's human compassion are separated from him. Without Lenka, he becomes a completely different person. Since we are all made up of constant repetition, instead of trying to understand the situation in which he unfortunately finds himself, he reaches for the same numbing feelings: anger, irritation and blame towards the other person.

Look here, I'm in heaven/I've got scars that can't be seen/I've got drama that can't be stolen/Everybody knows me now

But where does guilt fall into this psychological equation?

It seems that without Lenka he cannot commit to anything, even his own journey. Until a mysterious spider-like creature (Paul Dano's soothing voice) suddenly appears on board the ship, which Jacob later names Hanus. Sandler's character believes this is just a hallucination, but when Hanus starts eating his refrigerator, one thing is certain: the unbearable lightness of reality is playing tricks on him once again. However, as it turns out, Hanus is also suffering greatly and is hiding a secret. And yes, Hanus's entire appearance is practically unexplained, it feels a bit random, but Rink, like Lynch, wants us to. They feltAnd he didn't try to understand. Together, our two diverse heroes, thanks to their mutual connection and compassion, will become companions for an indefinite period of time. Due to the lack of time and other activities, Jacob and Hanus will start talking, like a meeting of friends after many years. Most of the film (despite its abstract, script-related solutions) resorts to dialogue and jumps into the past in the form of distorted visions. In them, almost every second sentence impacts Lenka and Jakub's emotional state, and also helps us learn more about their relationship.

Look here man, I'm in danger/I've got nothing to lose/I'm so high it's making my mind spin/I dropped my cell phone down/Ain't that just like me?

The Czech poet Karel Thoman ends one of his poems with a Latin sentence that says: Without the sun I am nothing (English: “Without the sun, everything is nothing”). It is no coincidence that this kind of formula (and the full version of the entire work) can be found in the introduction to the novel Bohemia Spaceman Jaroslav Kalvar, who Netflix is ​​counting on astronaut. Interestingly, the film departs largely from the plot of the book, as it strips it of its political influences and focuses strictly on the spiritual layer filled with ecstatic passion and deep hidden grievances. Rink is an incurable romantic, and through the screenplay he wants to paint a picture of a relationship that has not (yet) been written off. Drawing from his own autobiographical stories (unrequited love, mistakes made, divorce), the director loves his characters and knows exactly how to lead them so that we can sympathize with each of them. He cares about them, and there is nothing more beautiful than a creator who cares about his characters.

Sandler's swan song resonates even more when we put aside the audio-visual space, which sounds like something straight out of some alien music video. naming astronaut Science fiction would not be an abuse, but the genre is quickly fading into the background (is it rather a psychological drama?), although without it there would be no story about the mysterious visit of Hanus. It is of great importance here and corresponds to the sentence from Tuman. When Hanus appears, he and Jacob will try to restore the sun's rays, which here may be a metaphor for the film's relationship. Without Lenka, Jacob is nothing, although there is one caveat: in order to be a person and thrive with him, Jacob will have to understand his mistakes as soon as possible. Looks, gestures, small moments of ecstasy that can change everything, or the need to express what has not been said: will Jacob be able to notice what actually seems imperceptible in long-term relationships?

astronaut It is a drama that resonates in those moments of humor when two characters, faced with omnipresent weaknesses and bitterness, reach for the last time the depths of their violated and unstable feelings. Despite the vast distance and practically no contact, they decide to operate on their once-in-love hearts. This is a dangerous experiment that is unlikely to succeed, but one thing is certain: Hanos is with them, and that's half the success. After all, there's nothing better than a long-distance couples therapist.

Isn't that like me?*

The titular “Spaceman” may be physically in the endless abyss of space, but his thoughts are always with Lenka; It is as if the spaceship has become for him a purgatory that he longs for and cannot escape from until he corrects his mistakes. It's been a long time since any film has depicted the impossibility of a relationship in such a nuanced way. That a relationship is essentially a conversation rather than a competition with the main theme being “who is more worthy”. astronaut It is a profound dissection of what needs to be said; All the rest of the formality is just an effective pretext with its own rules.

*The mentioned lines are from the song Lazarus David Bowie from the album Black star