Post by SnoBorderZero on Apr 19, 2019 17:05:58 GMT -5
Claire Denis has long been regarded as one cinema's most challenging contemporary voices, dabbling in enigmatic editing and storytelling, characters and situations provided with little to no backstories, and offering viewers glimpses into parts of the world they've likely never seen before. Denis is about as anti-mainstream as it gets despite employing the talents of Juliette Binoche in multiple films as well as a host of other big names, and has only seemed to grow more confident in her craft and style with each subsequent project. Denis is an immensely difficult filmmaker to grasp, at times making the work of Antonioni and Malick feel straight forward by comparison. And yet unlike pretentious pretenders attempting to succeed in similar fashion, Denis is well in command of what's happening onscreen, rewarding viewers with subtle glimpses into the complexities of her characters and the social constructs they're trying to grapple with. Whether it's uncompromising views into war (Beau Travail) or taboo longing in colonial times (Chocolat), Denis presents deep cuts thematically despite ostensibly humming along at languid paces. But for her first film in English, Denis has stepped into the realm of science fiction, offering what seems to be a familiar story ripe for sci-fi fans to sink their teeth into only to quickly dash those hopes in favor of what is sure to be one of the most challenging films of the year. High Life is not going to be for most people, nor is is trying to be, but anyone that's been enthralled by Denis' past work will find much to appreciate and be confounded by with her latest work.
High Life is set in a sort of alternate future that immediately transported me to worlds of other slow burn science fiction like Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris and Stalker where death row inmates have been offered the "opportunity" to partake in an experiment where they'll be thrust into a black hole and record the data from it to provide to the people of Earth. They're told that they have the honor of embarking on a landmark event in humanity, and even if they do not survive the encounter with the black hole, will redeem their names and cement themselves as scientific pioneers. Among them is our protagonist, Monte (Robert Pattinson), who unlike the other inmates refuses to engage in pills, masturbation, or anything that would break the celibate stand that's earned him the moniker of "the monk". We soon learn that their journey to the black hole may only be a part of their mission, or even a red herring altogether, as Dr. Dibs (Juliette Binoche) collects their semen samples in attempts to give birth to babies in space and see if they can withstand the radiation. All of this is told in elliptical fashion that weaves in and out of time, starting in the past, venturing deeper into the past, and then rocketing us into the future/present day. At times it's difficult to know where we are or what's happening, but Denis does provide more backstory and narration than usual to keep the viewer from being completely in the dark. Both plot lines do interweave with one another very nicely as well, as the paranoia, isolation, and hostilities of the ship's inhabitants only worsens as they continue to travel towards the black hole and the sample collecting of Dr. Dibs reaches its heightened clandestine levels. Again though, if you're reading this and feel like it's reminiscent of Sunshine or Event Horizon or any host of hard science fiction films, it's not. Despite the higher budget, mainstream talent, and sci-fi backdrop, High Life is a Claire Denis film all the way, and not one that will ease you into her other works either.
High Life throws a lot of ideas out that I'm still attempting to grapple with. Sure, there's the obvious angle of us dispatching our fellow humans for our own gain, propagating that using the lower class is worth it granted it's for the greater good of humanity. There's also an interesting idea that refusal to indulge in carnal pleasures, like Monte does here, is the key to survival and self preservation. Or that appreciation for nature, growth, and life, such as what Andre Benjamin's character exhibits for the ship's garden, allows one to heal and thrive in horrible circumstances. Perhaps the most interesting theme though is what Denis is saying about birth, or possibly rebirth, through Dibs' experiments in crafting babies. Without spoiling anything, this is Dibs' great pursuit, which she couples with her fastidious sexual desire, depicted in a wild sequence of her riding a mechanical dildo in an expertly edited sequence in light and shadows. Yes, you read that right.
The opening sequence shows Monte with his infant child, Willow, as the only two inhabitants of the ship. Monte spends his time fixing the ship, recording mandatory captain logs that keep the ship functioning, and showing himself to be a loving and affectionate father despite the seeming hopelessness of their mission. Is Denis posing the question of whether or not anything can be nurtured or grown in space, or is it not the environment but the damaged people creating life that are ultimately leading potential happiness to ruin? It's not very clear, and I found myself as confounded as the crew members on the ship as we all hurtled toward our destination. The film moves at a deliberate pace, but then will shock the audience with extreme moments of violence, sex, and even some pretty neat science fiction special effects-driven moments. If at times High Life feels like a languishly moving, scattershot movie, it certainly does, and yet Denis never loses her tone, focus, or grasp on her characters all the same. High Life is fascinating, frustrating, and ultimately rewarding all the same, and distinctively Claire Denis. High Life is a film that most people with detest due to its elliptical narrative and moments of shocking depravity, but fans of heady science fiction works should give this film a shot and be rewarded with a challenging experience in the process.
8/10
