Sunshine (2007 film)

[amanuensis1]

--Oh, freaking yes. I just watched the DVD of Sunshine, the 2007 film; I was afraid it was going to resemble the vague dull mysticism of The Fountain, but instead I got everything I'd hoped for it--a little 2001 mixed with Silent Running mixed with Pitch Black. And, well, yes, of course there's Alien in it, but not so much as you'd expect, given that the premise is, um, eight astronauts in claustrophobic quarters on a mission which is interrupted by a distress call. I was not all that keen for the first 10 minutes or so, worrying that I was seeing too much The Fountain in the groundwork, but suddenly everything ramped up into serious SF and I was glued to the screen, just glued.

I can see how someone might watch this film and have the opposite reaction--think it's dumb, not be able to suspend one's disbelief (and the main scientific premise in here is one that has to register a little blip on one's disbelief, though there appears to be a theoretical physics basis for it), but, ooh, it pulled me right in. Mainly because the film dispenses with nearly all the "human interest" s**t I hate. To tell you what hated elements are not in the film would be reverse-spoilery, so I won't list them here, but I'll invite discussion and spoilers in the comments.

Watch this one in the dark. It's good that way.

Comments

[cindysilver.livejournal.com]

Oh my god, I love that movie. I watched in the dark, with the sound way up, and I really, really enjoyed it. I actually got the DVD, and I'm waiting to watch it again after I get to my boyfriend's house -- he has a big TV with surround sound and all that, so I'm really looking forward to the "experience".

Also, I think the soundtrack/score made the movie, personally. If you want it, it's impossible to find (it hasn't been released officially due to legal issues), but I persevered and eventually found it -- I have uploaded it on Megaupload, if you'd like it.

hxxp://www.megaupload.com/?d=PYQ8QL8W

To listen:

Change the link: hxxp to http
After download, change the filename from .sitx to .rar
Un-rar using WINrar or Win-Zip or another un-zipping program
Enjoy!

(Please comment if you download)

I particularly like the song "19 - The Surface of the Sun". Absolutely beautiful.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you so much for the soundtrack! I was just reading about how the score was never released but fans have ripped the score themselves. Yeah, I'm going to have to buy the DVD myself, now, I'm sure of it.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Oh, GOD, this is so good. Thank you to pieces!!

[femmequixotic]

I LOVE THAT MOVIE.

I saw it when it was released in theaters and it was just phenomenal. It was one of those films that just left me reeling at the end and that was perfect.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

I am six songs into the soundtrack (see above comments!) and, oh, am reliving what was so good about it all over again. I know that there were elements of it I liked better than others but by the end I was so, so, SO satisfied. And there was no bullshit plot shit!

[femmequixotic]

Oh, the soundtrack's awesome! And yeah, one of the things I loved about it was that they seriously resisted going down roads that would have totally destroyed the movie as a whole.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

No kids. No dogs. No estranged husbands and wives to be brought together by the disaster. No romance at all, YESSSSSSSSSSS!! No photos of one's cute kids back home! No wives fixing dinner back home sending sad messages on the telephone! THANK YOU GOD!

[meredyth-13.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid I'm of the tribe that like their science fiction intelligent, or fantasy - I can suspend disbelief a long way for a good story, but I cannot swallow supposedly highly educated and intelligent scientists and mission specialists (who one would imagine went through substantial testing and assessment) acting like morons and making really stupid judgement calls. I don't like it in dumb blondes in horror movies, but at least they're dumb blondes, and someone has to go down into the cellar when the light bulb isn't working.

So, as much as there were elements of this that could have worked, it kept falling apart for me. *sigh* But I did like the equation of the intense light as a drug. And thank you for posting, because it's interesting to get someone else's entirely different take on it.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Yes, as I said above, I won't argue, because I can see why people could watch this and say, "What...computers don't work like that. Why would they go in there without supplemental oxygen? Why doesn't this thing have a fail safe?" Etc. I mean, anything that uses the phrase "stellar bomb" is off to a risky start, with me. But once we got to the whole plotting-trajectories thing, I was along for the ride and loving it.

[meredyth-13.livejournal.com]

Oh, definitely not arguing - as I said, it's fascinating to see someone else with a totally different take on something you've had a particular reaction to.

:)

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

And I say this as someone who is generally in the "wants her SF intelligent" category--I'm the first one to freak out when I see the science glitches. But sometimes, as in this film, the science is so far-flung as to imply deeper science than we can know, kind of like Clarke's Law. And it wins me over.

[veryshortlist.livejournal.com]

I loved it the first time I saw it in the theater, because it is the sort of movie that is tailor made for viewing at top volume.

It was a bit difficult to watch a group of highly intelligent people degenerate into madness, which, actually is the point, I think.

I really liked Cillian Murphy, and his giant blue eyes, and the fucking gold pimpy space suit. And Troy Garrity, whom I love ever since Soldier's Girl.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Another film I should have said it evoked was Carpenter's The Thing, where the madness of the cooped-up characters starts to plague them just as much as any boogeymen.

[veryshortlist.livejournal.com]

Though most horror movie plots do nothing for me, that particular one does, a lot. I'll have to pass.

[exbentley]

I definitely agree with this, it was quite a Thingy movie.

[exbentley]

Mmmm, god-as-energy metaphor. I loved that film. And all the fiery special effects are amaaaazing in the cinema.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

And, see, I was able to look past the whole issue of god--what I took from it was that those who were searching for god in their mission went mad in a way that hindered the mission, but those who were looking at the science of what they were doing were more at peace with fufilling the mission, even if it meant their deaths. And in doing so they found the beauty and meaning in their purpose--as evidenced by Capa's sense of peace and wonder at the end.

[who_la_hoop]

I loved loved loved this film - until it turned into a ridiculous slasher movie, and I rolled my eyes and wished it hadn't. It wasn't totally unexpected, but it felt like a major copout to be so... obvious and gory. I actually think I would have been happier with a sad ending - if all the people on the other ship had been dead, and the crew ended up failing their mission and condemning the earth. LOL, I'm a cheery person, aren't I?

It was so gorgeous though - both space, the ship and (yum) Cillian. That boy is disturbingly beautiful.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

I agree that the first two-thirds pleased me more than the "slasher movie" bit, but since they pulled it all together for the end I still loved it. The ending was exactly my cup of tea--race against time and obstacles with the assurance that everyone's going to die to succeed--actively do something that will get them killed but is necessary, like Mace fixing the computer-- and everyone does die but completes the mission, yay.

I also forgave some of the slasher movie element because of the way the film acknowledges the concept that there is not going to be some alien or ghost or what have you rampaging through the ship(s). It's true--but it lulls you into forgetting that man can do as much harm as any alien or ghost. So the element with Pinbacker wasn't my favorite bit either, but I was very much at peace with it by the end.

I first saw Cillian in Batman Begins, like so many others--I remember looking at his pretty mouth and pretty eyes behind those neat little eyeglasses and gasping, "It's Dark Lord Harry Potter, eee!"

[pingrid.livejournal.com]

Gah, I had blissfully managed to forget The Foutain until now. ;) I really oved Sunshine as well, up until the the slasher /almost-creature-feature part out of it. I wish they had just skipped the gore and religious aspect of the movie and gone for a quietly happy ending instead. Or even better, dropped the entire Pinbacker bit and gone with a sad or tragic ending with the mission failing; that would have made this film an absolute classic for sheer originality! The silly bit leading up to the end just detracted so much from the movie (for me) that I ended up filing it in the "okay" category instead of the potential "amazing" it might have been.

But Cillian! Yes! I can't think of a movie where I haven't liked him, and he chooses to do a lot of very interesting films, which is great. Breakfast on Pluto is just spectacular (though odd, both the film and his character) - anyone who can and will act like that has my heartfelt admiration.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Hee, you're the second person to say they wanted the mission to fail! I think the structure of this film fit most neatly for the crew to lose their lives but complete their mission; I think the most telling moment is when Capa and Mace come to blows when Mace can't send a message home because Capa took too long. In that scene we see how important home, and their mission, is to them, we see their hopes for survival, and we see how fragile the peaceful interaction is between these humans. Which means something has to be lost but something must be saved, because their hopes are too great for them to get everything they hope for (survival and success), and we have to see them work together under the hardest possible circumstances (sacrificing themselves directly so that their fellows can complete the mission).

*remembers just now has appropriate icon--from the MSTy of Armageddon!*

[pingrid.livejournal.com]

Yes! The message scene is wonderful. Almost all of it is wonderful, in fact, and I agree that the bittersweet ending with the whole crew dying but their mission succeeding is very fitting (and hardly a happy ending now that I consider it properly, heh). I'm just sorry they ruined the intriguing mundanity (which somehow managed to be present even through the very SF-y mission) with the silly monster sequence. Granted, the monster was human, but the way it was (over)done killed my SoD instantly. Maybe it's just me missing the big message of the film, but it seemed entirely gratuitous and disruptive to me. I would happily have watched a version twice as long if it had focused only on the crew and their dilemma, though. I find the themes of low-key, no-frills heroism and idealism very intriguing.

*has no appropriate icon and resorts to timeless truths*

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

the way it was (over)done killed my SoD instantly.

I get that, I do. If I hadn't been so into it and keen to forgive, as long as we got the ending I was wanting, I might have bailed at that point--I can see why others did.

[pingrid.livejournal.com]

I'm quite envious that you were able to get past it, to be honest. I would really like to have loved the whole thing because so much of it was exactly to my taste. :)

[shiraz_wine]

Since you said you wanted to read the actual book, I thought you might like to see this Tales of Beedle the Bard writing contest: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=pe_25630_8767240_fe_exp_1/?docId=1000207461

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

I saw this! Thank you so much for the link! When I saw this, I thought, "You know, I could spend a week coming up with something really clever, but ultimately it'll probably go to something cute and endearing that some eleven-year-old comes up with, so, why bother." Aren't I a cynic sometimes? ^_^

[shiraz_wine]

I don't think your writing has ever been on par with an eleven-year-old's! You're an amazing writer; you should definitely try it!

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

But you know how it will be! Some eleven-year-old will write something that has a funny grammatical mistake or two, and everyone will giggle, and they'll say, "Hey, this is pretty good for an eleven-year-old, and so endearing!" And they'll pick that and that will be the end of it. I've seen it. ^_^

[cluegirl.livejournal.com]

Angel and Jack Harkness in an angst-off to the death!

http://community.livejournal.com/ihasatardis/1061775.html#cutid1

(Sam got back to me and pointed my search in the right direction. Enjoy!)

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

*giggles uncontrollably*

[rubynye.livejournal.com]

A month later and a time away, I wandered by this and was very glad to do so. I really loved that movie, despite the bit that set the plot rolling and gory segment, and most of the people around me didn't.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

I've watched it four times. :D