High Life (2018)

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Movie
Original title High life
Country of production Germany , France , United Kingdom
original language English
Publishing year 2018
length 113 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Claire Denis
script Claire Denis,
Jean-Pol Fargeau ,
Geoff Cox
production Laurence Clerc ,
Oliver Dungey ,
Christoph Friedel ,
DJ Gugenheim ,
Andrew Lauren ,
Klaudia Smieja ,
Claudia Steffen ,
Olivier Thery
music Stuart A. Staples
camera Yorick Le Saux ,
Tomasz Naumiuk
cut Guy Lecorne
occupation
synchronization

High Life is a science fiction adventure film directed by Claire Denis . In the film, a group is sent to the black hole closest to Earth to look for alternative energy sources. The film was released in US theaters on April 5, 2019 and in theaters in the United Kingdom on May 10, 2019. The cinema release in Germany took place on May 30, 2019.

action

A spaceship is traveling far beyond our solar system. It's a simple cube and has the number 7. The only human passengers are Monte and his little daughter Willow. Monte is the last survivor of the original nine-man crew. This consisted of ex-inmates who escaped the death penalty or life behind bars by agreeing to embark on a journey to the closest black hole to earth to find alternative sources of energy. The aim of the mission was to obtain its rotational energy, which according to the theory of the physicist Roger Penrose can be obtained near a black hole, and thus to provide the people on earth with almost unlimited resources. Some scientists on earth have doubts whether the mission can really solve the problems on earth.

Monte reports daily to the on-board computer about the tasks assigned to him or completed, after which he is granted 24 hours by the life support system. At almost the speed of light , years after the launch it is not certain that contact with the earth will continue. The days on board pass much more slowly than on earth, and all the people Monte knew may already be dead. Monte now has to do all the work necessary on board by himself. He has made improvised toys for his daughter Willow and prepares baby food for her from the fruits and vegetables that he grows in the ship's garden. When he is off the ship for missions, he uses the on-board communications to monitor Willow. The bodies of his deceased mission colleagues are in the cooling chamber, which he puts in their spacesuits and disposed of through the airlock. When Willow screams, it almost robs him, but it's not just because of her that Monte has remained steadfast the whole time. He knows that a return to earth is very unlikely and that they have been lied to about it.

The viewer learns the background story in flashbacks. The on-board doctor Dr. Dibs, who killed her husband and two children, had the male mission members donate sperm on a regular basis and use it to fertilize the women on board, hoping to create life in the endless void of space. Due to cosmic rays , the women lost their children either before they were born or shortly afterwards. While the rest of the board members regularly sought their sexual fulfillment alone in the "Fuck Box", a lockable room, Monte decided to abstain . Hence, Dr. Dibs not at first on his sperm. As a result, there was not only attempted rape, but also fatal revenge.

After Dr. Dibs put the crew into a deep sleep, with Monte, without whose knowledge, had intercourse, had taken his sperm and thus fertilized the boyse, who was also sleeping, she gave birth to a healthy girl. Satisfied that he had created a perfect child in this hostile environment, Dr. Dibs herself by leaving the spaceship through the airlock without a spacesuit. She previously told Monte that he was Willow's father.

More than 76,000 earth days after the mission began, Willow has grown up. Her period has started and all she knows about humanity is what she knows from the records in the computer. Her cube is getting closer and closer to her goal when suddenly another spaceship appears. It's about cube number 6. Monte docks to the other spaceship, goes on board, but only finds dogs there. Willow would have liked to keep one of the puppies, but Monte convinces her that she can't. Willow and her father board a small space shuttle and steer it towards the black hole.

production

History of origin

The French astrophysicist Aurélien Barrau acted as scientific advisor

Directed by Claire Denis . It is the first film in English that the French director made. High Life is a production by Pandora Film, Alcatraz Films (France), The Apocalypse Company (United Kingdom), Madants (Poland) with Andrew Lauren Productions (USA), in coproduction with Arte France Cinema, ZDF / Arte in collaboration with Canal + and Ciné +.

The film received funding of 1.25 million euros from the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW , 675,000 euros from the German Film Fund and a grant from the British Film Institute. In addition, the production was funded with 319,000 euros from the Franco-German Funding Commission, 250,000 euros from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and 1.5 million zlotys from the Polish Film Institute.

The director wrote the script together with Jean-Pol Fargeau and Geoff Cox . Denis said he had written the script in French before it was translated. In her design there was a place she called the "Love Machine" and where people could have their own sexual fantasies. After a colleague explained to her that Love Machine was also a song, the place was renamed "Fuck Box". In the movie, it's basically a soundproof masturbation chamber equipped with bondage rollers and a silver dildo on a leather seat.

The French philosopher and astrophysicist Aurélien Barrau was involved in the project as a scientific expert. Barrau completed his habilitation on black holes in the early stages of the universe and was awarded the Bogolyubov Prize in December 2006 for his work in the field of high-energy astrophysics and cosmology, an award for young scientists in the field of theoretical physics. Denis said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that she knew no more about the scientific topics raised in the film than the average person who reads the newspaper. A friend recommended that she contact Barrau while she was writing the script. At a meeting with the astrophysicist she became aware of the enormous scientific progress in space research over the past ten years, and later she attended some of his courses. Irish writer Nick Laird acted as an additional advisor in writing the script .

Cast and filming

Robert Pattinson took on the role of Monte in the film, Jessie Ross plays his daughter Willow, Mia Goth her mother Boyse. The French actress and Oscar winner Juliette Binoche took on the role of the on-board doctor Dibs, the German actor Lars Eidinger the role of Chandra. André Benjamin aka André 3000 of the hip-hop duo OutKast plays Tcherny.

The Danish-Icelandic artist Ólafur Elíasson designed the spaceship

The shooting took place between August 21 and November 17, 2017 in the Cologne Media Park NRW Studios. Additional recordings were made in the Olafur Eliasson studio in Berlin and in Bialystok, Poland . As cameramen acted Yorick Le Saux and Tomasz Naumiuk .

The Danish-Icelandic artist Ólafur Elíasson , who primarily deals with physical phenomena in nature such as light and water, movement and reflection, designed the spaceship for the film. The APA describes the result as not too far removed from our present, as Denis does not draw a futuristic future: “The spaceship is decorated in beige and brown tones and looks about as spacey as a shoe box from the outside. The computers exude a charming Commodore 64 look. No holodeck, no HAL 9000 , no aliens, only people, their bodies and bodily fluids, their guilt and their desires, and the hopeless feeling of existential deception. "

Film music

The score was composed by Stuart A. Staples . The soundtrack, which comprises a total of 18 pieces of music, was released as download by Milan Records on April 5, 2019 and is also due to be released in physical form on April 12, 2019. The soundtrack also includes the movie song Willow , written by Staples and performed by the Tindersticks together with lead actor Robert Pattinson, which has been pre-released.

Marketing and Publishing

The first film material with Robert Pattinson was presented at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2018 . After a screening in Cannes was planned, it was announced in April 2018 that the film was not ready yet. The film celebrated its world premiere on September 9, 2018 at the Toronto International Film Festival . It was also shown in September 2018 as part of the Festival Internacional de Cine de San Sebastián and subsequently at the Zurich Film Festival . In October 2018 there was a screening at the New York Film Festival .

After the film was shown in Toronto, A24 secured the distribution rights for North America. Wild Bunch took over the world sales. In October 2018, Wild Bunch released the first official teaser trailer. A theatrical release in France took place on November 7, 2018. On April 5, 2019, it came in selected US theaters and on May 10, 2019 in cinemas in the United Kingdom. After a screening at the Film Festival Cologne in October 2018 , Pandora Film Verleih brought the film to German cinemas on May 30, 2019. On the same day, the film was released in Austria. In June 2019 he was presented at the Sydney Film Festival . At the end of July and beginning of August 2019 it will be shown at the Jerusalem Film Festival .

reception

Age rating

In the USA, the film received an R rating from the MPAA , which corresponds to a rating of 17 and over. In Germany, the film was approved for people aged 16 and over . The statement of reasons for the release states: “The complex story, which is unusual for the genre, is stylized like a chamber play, with internal monologues and fragmentary flashbacks.” The otherwise very calm narrative contains individual eruptive and violent moments, which are also irritating because of the film's hypothermia can. In addition, scenes with sexually irritating content could emotionally overwhelm children under the age of 16, so on in the explanation.

Reviews

In December 2017 was Highlife of film critic Jay Weissberg of the industry sheet on the list of 20 most anticipated films of the cinema year 2018 Variety set. So far, the film has received approval from 83 percent of all Rotten Tomatoes critics and received an average rating of 7.5 out of a possible 10 points. The film also came second in the 21st Annual Golden Tomato Awards in the Best Sci-Fi / Fantasy Movies category .

For Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter , High Life is a mixture of contradiction and complexity, and in some ways it's not exactly a science fiction film . The director Claire Denis used the story of a spaceship with human guinea pigs as a pretext to explore topics that came up again and again during her thirty-year career: “Desire and its fatal consequences, the beauty of the body and the damage we sometimes do to it , the life of outcasts who live on the edge of our world, the warm and weak relationship that parents can have with their children, passion, violence, sex, death. ”The film dispenses with many classic science fiction clichés and offers at the same time Moments of the space opera, according to Mintzer, but mostly the film is a dark, claustrophobic and sometimes very violent chamber piece that takes place on a spaceship that is heading for its inevitable fate. Even if Mintzer describes some scenes showing the exterior of the spaceship and space as not very original, he highlights an unforgettable setting in which stars swirl around a black hole as if it were sperm swimming around an egg cell, as well the decor by Francois-Renaud Labarthe inside a very dirty spaceship and the haunting film music by Denis' regular composer Stuart A. Staples .

Charles Bramesco of the Guardian describes that Denis reconfigured the components she was familiar with in the science fiction film in order to create a surprisingly fresh examination of the question of what it means to be human. Heavy isolation brings the brain back to its lowest biological capacity, according to Bramesco, and Denis uses the sex drive as fuel when there is nothing left to live, and the struggle of travelers on the spaceship to stay healthy is sometimes extreme, bizarre measures required.

Martin Schwickert from Tagesspiegel says of this bizarre science fiction variation, in which a group of prisoners were treated like guinea pigs and in which semen, artificial insemination and a masturbation chamber were part of the futuristic basic equipment, Denis developed an apocalyptic future vision from it, in which violence and beauty close together.

Awards (selection)

The film is in a preselection for the European Film Awards 2019 . Below is a selection of other awards and nominations.

Festival Internacional de Cine de San Sebastián 2018

Jerusalem Film Festival 2019

  • Nomination for the Gabriel Sherover Foundation Award - Best International Film (Claire Denis)

Toronto International Film Festival 2018

  • Nomination for the People's Choice Award (Claire Denis)

synchronization

The German synchronization was based on a dialogue book and the dialogue direction by Christoph Cierpka on behalf of Christa Kistner Synchronproduktion GmbH, Potsdam. Christin Marquitan lends the German version to Dr. Dibs her voice, Johannes Raspe speaks Monte.

Web links

Commons : High Life  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release certificate for High Life . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry (PDF; test number: 185849 / K). Template: FSK / maintenance / type not set and Par. 1 longer than 4 characters
  2. ↑ a b c d Shooting deadline for "High Life" In: filmstiftung.de, November 17, 2018.
  3. ↑ Funding decisions 2016 In: medienboard.de. Accessed April 5, 2018 (PDF; 157 KB)
  4. ↑ Nick Newman: Claire Denis on the Emotional Journey of 'High Life' and How Filmmaking is Like Murder. In: The Film Stage, April 28, 2018.
  5. ↑ a b Jordan Mintzer: 'High Life': Film Review. In: The Hollywood Reporter: September 10, 2018.
  6. ^ A b c Scott Roxborough: Why Robert Pattinson Was the Perfect Actor for Claire Denis' Sci-Fi Movie. In: The Hollywood Reporter, November 4, 2017.
  7. ↑ http://www2.cnrs.fr/presse/journal/3150.htm
  8. ↑ High Life. In: britishcouncil.org. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  9. ↑ http://www.unitedagents.co.uk/cv/10784/film_tv_theatre
  10. ↑ Andre 3000 Stars Alongside Robert Pattinson in Upcoming Movie 'High Life'. In: billboard.com, January 16, 2019.
  11. ↑ Nick Newman: Claire Denis' Robert Pattinson-Led 'High Life' Will Feature Unwanted Insemination and Black Holes. In: The Film Stage, February 8, 2016.
  12. ↑ https://www.moviepilot.de/news/berlinale-2017-die-haben-der-jury-unter-der-lupe-184220/seite-5
  13. ↑ 56th Viennale: “High Life” - bodies betrayed in nowhere. In: Tiroler Tageszeitung Online, October 27, 2018.
  14. ↑ Soundtrack Album for Claire Denis' 'High Life' Announced. In: filmmusicreporter.com, February 28, 2019.
  15. ↑ Alex Ritman: Berlin First Look: Robert Pattinson in Claire Denis' 'High Life'. In: The Hollywood Reporter, February 14, 2018.
  16. ↑ Michael Nordine: Claire Denis Reveals Why 'High Life', Her Sci-Fi Thriller Starring Robert Pattinson, Isn't at Cannes. In: indiewire.com, April 15, 2018.
  17. ↑ Andreas Köhnemann: San Sebastián with the first program points. In: kino-zeit.de, July 13, 2018.
  18. ^ Charles Barfield: Claire Denis' 'High Life' Starring Robert Pattinson To Compete At 66th San Sebastian Film Festival. In: theplaylist.net, July 13, 2018.
  19. ↑ High Life. In: zff.com. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  20. ^ Jordan Raup: 56th New York Film Festival Main Slate Announced. In: filmlinc.org, August 7, 2018.
  21. ↑ Etan Vlessing: Toronto: Robert Pattinson's 'High Life' Lands at A24. In: The Hollywood Reporter, September 12, 2018.
  22. ↑ https://filmfestival.cologne/festivalprogramm/festivalreihen-2018/best-of-cinema/high-life/
  23. ↑ Start dates Germany In: insidekino.com. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  24. ↑ Film starts in May 2019. In: skip.at. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  25. ↑ https://www.broadsheet.com.au/sydney/entertainment/article/sydney-film-festival-has-announced-its-full-2019-program
  26. ↑ Reasons for approval for High Life In: Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  27. ↑ The Most Anticipated Movies of 2018 In: Variety, December 26, 2017.
  28. ↑ High Life. In: Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 9, 2019. Note: The Tomatometer is the percentage of Rotten Tomatoes Approved Critics who gave the film a positive rating.
  29. ↑ Best Reviewed Sci-Fi / Fantasy Movies 2019. In: Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  30. ↑ Charles Bramesco: High Life review - orgasmic brilliance in deepest space with Robert Pattinson. In: The Guardian, September 10, 2018.
  31. ↑ Martin Schwickert: Toronto Film Festival: Our love is an insurrection. In: Der Tagesspiegel, September 17, 2018.
  32. ^ Jochen Müller: Lola-Abräumer in pre-selection for the European Film Award. In: Blickpunkt: Film, August 20, 2019.
  33. ↑ EFA Feature Film Selection. In: europeanfilmawards.eu. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  34. ↑ Claire Denis, Kim Jee-woon, Naomi Kawase and Valeria Sarmiento, among others, will be competing for the Golden Shell at the 66th San Sebastian Festival. In: sansebastianfestival.com, July 13, 2018.
  35. ↑ High Life wins San Sebastián's FIPRESCI Award. In: cineuropa.org, 29: September 2018.
  36. ↑ International Competition. In: jff.org.il. Retrieved July 24, 2019.