SPACEMAN: This is the Beginning

Without knowing a thing about it, including that it had even been made, I watched Johan Renck's Spaceman last night. Although going in, I had no idea what it was about, it was, nonetheless, 100% not anything I might even have suspected.  I was immediately - as in within seconds - completely caught up in everything this story had to say, the art direction, the acting, the storytelling and . . . well, quite frankly not only moved (several times) to tears, but actually kind of blown away by the inherent sadness and tone of it.  

This is a nearly impossible movie to review without giving it away, so here is a 99.9% spoiler free synopsis. 

Czech cosmonaut, Jakub Procházka is on a solo journey to investigate and collect samples from the heavenly anomaly, Chopra, a beautiful, glowing purple cloud of dust that appeared on Earth's horizon several years prior. For this mission,  Jakub had to leave his beautiful, adored wife and unborn daughter. He fights loneliness, depression, and technical issues on his spacecraft in the form of toilet issues, cameras breaking down, noise and eventually, failing communications with Earth.  Six months into his journey he is awakened by an unwelcome alien creature (although being the universe, he, too, is in reality, an alien). This creature, an enormous spider, wreaks havoc on Jakub's psyche as he struggles wondering if he is hallucinating or if this is his reality.  Eventually, a bond is formed between the two beings, and he names the spider (who is from a race where there are no names) Hanuš, who was once believed to have been the builder of the Prague Astronomical Clock in 1410. In turn, Hanuš addresses Jakub only as Skinny Human.  

As they drift closer to Chopra Hanuš is able to see into the mind of Jakub, understand his crippling loneliness, and the fraying of his marriage directly caused by an inability to face the horrible realities of his childhood, and be completely honest with his beloved Lenka. 

Opera lovers may find it interesting how important a role, musically thematically, and dramatically, Dvořák's Rusalka plays in Spaceman, including Jakub's description of the opera to Hanuš. Renée Fleming's recording with Sir Charles Mackerras' of Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém (Song to the Moon) makes several appearances in Max Richter's hauntingly atmospheric soundtrack.  

Full disclosure: I have never been much of an Adam Sandler fan, but here, the fellow bares naked the tortured soul of Jakub, a man who will fearlessly face anything but the realities of his sad and lonely life. Sandler's performance is magnificent. Frustrating. Heartbreaking. Paul Dano supplies the gentle voice of his wise new companion, Hanuš.

Although the bulk of the film is carried on the spaceship, the earthbound counterparts are of equal importance to the tale, and here, Carrie Mulligan as the heartbroken Lenka struggling to move ahead in life is gripping and moving. (One may ask, when is she never?)  Lena Olin - a face we don't see as often as we should - is excellent in the short role of Lenka's mother.  Isabella Rossellini, as Commissioner Tuma - Jakub's commander  is strong, compassionate, and determined to make certain everything works for Jakub whose shoulders much is carried on in this project.

To tell more than this, would be too much I think.

But you may decide NOT to see this movie as, since watching it, I've read countless reviews and nearly all of them have torn the film to pieces. One of the tropes I find most appalling - and one of the biggest cop outs, come from critics who use variations of the phrase "this movie can't decide what it wants to be. Is it a space movie? A love story? Sci-Fi? A statement on the human conditon?"  Why does a story need to be confined to one thing? Why should a movie about humans on earth and in space be only about earth and space? I could go on, but  . .. nah.  

The film is directed by Johan Renck - whose 2019 Chernobyl was an international hit, not to mention one of the best things seen on television in the last decade. Renck has also garnered praise and awards for pilots and episodes of things like Breaking Bad, Black Mirror, Vikings, and The Walking Dead. He treats this filmic adaptation of  Jaroslav Kalfař's acclaimed novel Spaceman of Bohemia, with love, striking perfect balances between what is real and what may not be real, and in so doing, creates a universe, both on earth and in heaven, that is frequently breathtaking in its beauty. 

In the end, all I can say is this: I fell in love with this strange, and strangely beautiful film and plan to journey with it again soon.      

A Brilliant Recital: Rene Pape at the Metropolitan Opera House

The great German Bass Rene Pape and pianist Camillo Radicke presented a splendid recital this afternoon (Sunday, 24 September 2014) at the Metropolitan Opera House. I listened live courtesy of Metropolitan Opera Radio on Sirius Radio, and do hope to hear from those lucky enough to attend in person. For this recital Herr Pape programmed a marvelous program of songs by Beethoven, Dvorak, Quilter and Mussorgsky.

Beethoven's Six Songs after Poetry by Gellert (Op. 48) began the program on a very intimate, spiritual level, with Pape's amazing German enunciation, clean and unaffected, as though recited by an actor of amazing skill (which, of course he is). Prayerful, joyful and filled with contemplation on the nature of man and God, Beethoven captures the essence of each of the selected "Spiritual Odes" beautifully, most notably in the longest (and final) of the songs, with its "theme and variations" style accompaniment (at times sounding like a Bach chorale prelude) with the singer weaving the melody throughout.

Pape was in beautiful voice, and the level of expression in Dvorak's more complex Biblical Songs (Op. 99) was like wandering on a personal, spiritual journey. The songs cover such a wide variety of emotion, but not in the typical Dvorakian manner, rather more sparse, raw and honest. Here, the partnership between Messrs. Pape and Radicke revealed itself even stronger in this, the longest set of the recital.

Following intermission came three Shakespearean songs by Roger Quilter. Pape's English, so perfectly, crisply enunciated was betrayed only occasionally by the hint of his accent which added an extra bit of charm. The songs, all three gorgeous, would have flowed a bit
nicer, if, DURING the postlude of the first, ("Come Away Death") some over-exuberant fan began applauding. Not being there, I'm uncertain what happened next, but guessing from the audience's laughter the singer made some sort of gesture or facial expression to this person, provoking the audience into mass laughter.

The final set was Mussorgsky's powerful Songs and Dances of Death, and here the Rene Pape the recitalist became an Rene Pape the opera singer, imbuing the music with a powerful, masterful interpretation of the text wed completely to music which was masterful, beautiful and, when appropriate, bone chilling. Both singer and pianist emphasized the dance-like elements of Mussorgsky's songs and even only listening over Sirius, the effect provided a completely theatrical and emotionally absorbing experience. At its conclusion, the audience, naturally did the only thing they could and went appropriately nuts, calling both artists back several times.

After this kind of intense, emotional recital (the very opposite of a "light" entertainment) I half expected there would be either no encore, or perhaps a single lied generously offered. Instead, Mr. Pape, gifted us with three, the first the beautiful Zueignung of Richard Strauss, second a rarely performed, lovely Kinderwacht by Robert Schumann, and finally, a most unexpected one; Lerner and Lowe's If Ever I Would Leave You from the musical Camelot. In the final song, Herr Pape's English was superb, as the emotions poured out perfectly with the music, ending with the high note option and the singer clearly had the audience in the palm of his hand and (according to the announcers) leaping to their feet once again.

A truly marvelous way to spend the first Sunday afternoon of autumn.