Mike Cahill
Another Earth

Acclaimed at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011, "Another Earth" was highly anticipated in Italy as well, where it arrived with the usual one-year delay. An independent film directed by the emerging Mike Cahill and co-written with the film's star, the beautiful Brit Marling, who is also relatively unknown.

Rhoda (Brit Marling) hears on the radio about the discovery of a new planet perfectly identical to Earth. She tries to find it in the night sky while driving her car and ends up causing an accident that destroys the family of composer John Burroughs (William Mapother).

This is the skeleton of the plot of a film that skillfully mixes, with modesty, a science fiction finally not computerized and hyper-technological, and an intimate, disturbing drama of two protagonists unaware of living the same pain: Rhoda with her guilt that has gripped her existence, and John with a suffering for the loss of his loved ones that has quickly turned into solitude and then resignation. Yet, there is something that must be made clear from the outset: "Another Earth" is not a science fiction film. Those expecting spaceships or such amenities can easily stay away. Cahill wanted to create a film capable first and foremost of posing questions, even of a certain depth, on themes such as loneliness, remorse, and, in a somewhat more subtle way, social acceptance. Indeed, Rhoda and John, albeit for different reasons, are two individuals estranged from a society that no longer seems to belong to them.

"Another Earth" is a work made of silences, glances, elegant but also "cold" images. A film that makes you reflect but despite all the good characteristics previously mentioned, it also has its weak points. The most significant on the final judgment is undoubtedly the rhythm of the film: "Another earth"  primarily relies on feelings and there's not the slightest trace of action, which makes it come across as too measured. Although the excellent acting of the two protagonists and the "indie" atmosphere emanated from Cahill's work, more could have been done on the narration level.

The presence of "Earth 2" opens up multiple scenarios, many questions and few answers, fears about the real human existence, doubts about discoveries and scientific knowledge, curiosity. In Cahill's first effort, there is much, and often it becomes complicated to find adequate answers, but the film in question is a work that deserves to be seen and explored.

A low-budget cinema that returns to interrogate the viewer, that aims to make you reflect and pose questions. Not to mention that it will likely be the launchpad for Brit Marling, with her angelic face and icy eyes. An actress destined to make a mark.

Three and a half stars.