Unlike many under-dog stories in which a character may accomplish the feats we inferred them to be capable of, Sunshine (2007) meets us on the way down. A story that, despite its strong undercurrent of altruism, paradoxically concerns itself with humans at our most utilitarian. More a tale of how hope can strip us down, rather than build us up — excellently conveyed by a stellar cast and the nuanced world that Boyle and company create.
The movie takes place in an alternate reality where the sun needs a tune-up, and the aptly (yet poorly) titled Icarus-2 barrels towards the star in an attempt to jump-start it via a very powerful bomb. The stakes are quite literally astronomical. And while Boyle never doubts their significance, he does make us question the mission’s futility– especially in a world where earth-like conditions can be relegated to a room, and where resources exclusive to earth are made to be self-sustainable. To quote another film about replicating nature, if something is “more human than human,” then what is the value of the original?
As Sunshine, among the aforementioned, is also a film about light, darkness, and their irrefutable connection, the answer is likewise sought within this context: in how it’s the characters’ emotional connection to the earth that precludes the slow wringing out of their humanity. That makes it easier for them to contemplate each other’s deaths, and to designate themselves as of varying priority to one another. The emotional effects are present, particularly in Rose Byrne’s depressed Barbie, and in Cillian Murphy’s distressed nuclear physicist (*wink*), but so are the justifications. The sun, though a practical story element, is also something of a white whale: brutal, merciful, unforgiving, but also warm, inviting, and– if you’re brave enough to look into it– it can show you a glimpse of God.
Sunshine 2007 dir. Danny Boyle 107 min.
Screening on 35mm Monday 11/6, 7:00 p.m. @ Coolidge Corner Theatre
Introduction by Harvard University solar astrophysicist Dr. Katharine Reeves
Part of the ongoing series: Science on Screen
