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        'Interstellar' Pierces Through Space, Stretches the Imagination

   by Penelope Poulou

   Acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan takes audiences beyond this
   galaxy with his philosophical sci-fi drama Interstellar. His award
   winning cast, breathtaking cinematography, razor sharp editing haunting
   music score, and profound story unlock the endless possibilities of
   space exploration on an IMAX screen. This visual story of cosmic
   proportions is grounded by an intimate tale of love between a father
   and a daughter. It opens nationwide November 7.
   Cooper, a former test pilot turned farmer, sees humanity's dying spirit
   in a dying planet. Sometime in the near future, the climate change on
   earth has caused an agricultural crisis setting the beginning of
   famine. Cooper knows that corn, one of the last crops to survive the
   permanent drought on the planet, will start dwindling soon. By then, it
   will be too late to save the world.

   Cooper is a widower who raises his two children on their corn farm with
   the help of his father-in-law. He shares a special bond with his young
   daughter, Murph, who also shares his love for science. Together they
   follow coordinates that lead them to an underground site where a small
   group of scientists and engineers are preparing a space mission beyond
   the galaxy in search of habitable planets.

   One character in the film, Professor Brand -- the brains behind the
   mission -- informs Cooper that scientists are no longer meant to save
   earth but to leave it.

   Filmmaker Nolan said his message does not advocate abandoning an ailing
   planet Earth instead of reversing global warming. He said the intention
   is to show that, if it ever came to that, humans have the spirit to
   move beyond the confines of our galaxy.

   But Interstellar shows that though the human drive for adventure is
   very powerful, what sustains us is the love that binds us together.

   Brand offers Cooper the dream of a lifetime: Go out there and explore
   the universe.

   But Cooper is torn. He loves his children too much to leave, but also
   too much to stay and let them die.

   Nolan launches the astronauts into the cold unknown. They look so
   negligible against the backdrop of the awesome vastness of space.

   But their drive to save humanity scales unfathomable distances. They
   are the trailblazers of a new era.

   Nolan said his greatest inspiration was visionary Stanley Kubrick's,
   sci-fi philosophical drama A Space Odyssey: 2001. He said he went to
   see it when he was seven-years-old.

   "My dad took me to see it on the big screen on the re- release," said
   Nolan. "That experience just stuck with me my whole career. The
   potential of what movies can be how that big screen can take you across
   the universe. Interstellar, is definitely my attempt and give kids of
   today some sense of that."

   Interstellar takes audiences through wormholes and black holes at a
   dizzying speed. It looks at their backbones and probes their purpose
   with scientific integrity. Throughout the movie, Nolan consulted with
   leading theoretical physicist Kip Thorne, whose work focuses on
   detecting gravitational waves, studying black holes and conceiving the
   great possibilities or wormholes.

   But as big as this space film is, it is equally intimate.

   In the lead role, actor Matthew McConaughey offers a layered
   interpretation of conflicted Cooper, who promises his daughter he will
   return. But he fears he may never see his kids again.

   "It's about the dare of exploration, discovery and courage" McConaughey
   said. "And it reminds us that our capacities are sometimes, lot times,
   greater than we even give ourselves credit for. We have incredible
   capacity as a species and this film challenges us. The same time is has
   incredible faith in us."

   Anne Hathaway plays Amelia Brand, the daughter of professor Brand and a
   bio engineer, looking for habitable planets. She leaves her father
   behind, none other than professor Brand himself.

   Hathaway said her role was a very demanding one - emotionally as well
   as physically.

   "I am a tomboy so I usually don't like to admit when I am challenged by
   something but this was really hard," she said. "The suit was heavy, I'm
   the only girl for miles, and so the boys, for them were like oh! This
   suit is kind of heavy and I am just..." she slouches under the heavy
   imaginary astronaut suit.

   Jessica Chastain plays Cooper's daughter, Murph -- as she grows up.

   As time stretches beyond the confines of the galaxy, one hour for the
   astronauts is seven years on Earth. And while Murph's father is working
   against time to find a planet and see his children again, she, is
   working as a scientist against time to save mankind on Earth.

   "This is a character which for women is very odd to get to play, a
   character like this that gets to be intelligent, capable, actively
   participating in our own world and the world around her and emotional,"
   Chastain said. "Sometimes women can be intelligent and capable, but
   they are not allowed to be emotional, right?"

   In the end, special effects aside, each one of these characters goes
   through self-exploration through self-sacrifice.

   Nolan, the director who gave us Memento, and Inception, does not follow
   shortcuts or clichés. As the skeleton crew races through the
   mysterious fabric of the universe, Interstellar takes us on a gripping,
   emotional, and by no means predictable journey.

   This is a movie of Titanic proportions.

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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/interstellar-pierces-through-space-st
   retches-the-imagination/2512597.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/interstellar-pierces-through-space-stretches-the-imagination/2512597.html