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the ascension to an artificial leader status deflating the very real promising romantic angle, and David's escalation as a result of the same deadpan delivery from higher-ups of his wife having faked illness to emulate the real David, all felt pitched with heft that made me feel like I should care more, but instead felt like the same material, just over or under-used. I guess, to your point, that reflexively imitates how this experiment is fruitless and got old and eliminates 'stakes', but it didn't do it in a way that felt amusing, and I got the impression that we were supposed to be more invested in David's dysregulation and the breaking-down of group dynamics, but it fell flat for me (which, again, may have been the point - though if so, I wouldn't expect it to be dragged out for like 40 mins). I think I would've felt more of a Barry-esque tonal blend if Steven had continually been kept gravitationally in orbit, subject to David's issues and the experimental failures (like Sally, NoHo, Gene, et al), but she remains enigmatic and out of reach. To say it a better way, the film didn't seem to decide to embrace that romantic angle or the self-discovery/role-playing your dream one, so both felt half-cooked. Though I suppose it's sorta about that conflict between risk-taking and following orders, external desire and internal regulation, dreaming and tapping into the present, romanticism and realism, etc. so it could be appropriate. The film just didn't really craft that conflict effectively for me, when it seemed like there were many opportunities to do so.

Dupieux's films tend to get bored with their high concepts extremely quickly and rapidly/repeatedly change tack or bring in largely unrelated stories, his latest being a prime example. Deerskin is kind of an exception, largely seeing its conceit through in a linear fashion, which I guess is why a lot of people like that one best, but I like his restless and (conventionally) "undisciplined" style a lot, which seems to be his acknowledged Blier influence, a director who values similar digressions, rug-pullings and free associations.
Viking reminded me more of one of Fillipou's scripts, though stops short of the violence, delerium and madness that is usually the endgame when his petri-dish concepts are brought to their inevitable conclusion. Viking seemed to be written around the two-sugar-lumps gag at the end, but that's OK, it was a terrific ending. For me, the film worked best when it avoided the somewhat predictable romance/lust intrigues (and I guessed straight away that the "sick wife" story wasn't for real and just another research exercise) and focused more on petty squabbles, these everyday trivialities contrasting with the mission's grandiose ambitions hilariously. When the possibilty of conception and birth in space was raised, I thought we were off in the direction of High Life replayed as a comedy, which might have been interesting!
Final thought it how much this felt like a lockdown project for me. The liberation that the central character felt when he finally left the capsule and returned to the simple pleasures of a cup of tea in a cafe felt exhilarating and highly relatable given the events of the last few years. Did anyone else get that feeling?

therewillbeblus wrote: Mon May 08, 2023 6:24 am I wanted the movie to be different

For me, the initial goings-on set up a similar framework to ours at the start of the pandemic: "We know this is all a little strange and some of it may seem trivial, but trust us, it's all very important. It could save the life of someone very far away, someone just like you." It's one thing to be committed to such a mission when it's low stakes, but I think the introduction of more dramatic elements was necessary to demonstrate just how committed David was, so it's more of a gut punch when he learns that his recommendations were probably just averaged out against those of countless others. He's not special, he's been sacrificing proportionally way too much, none of this matters, etc.

Perhaps the suicide of one crew member was more dramatic than the story required, but even that made for a great comedic moment when "Steven" is shown casually waiting for the bus home, undercutting the gravity of her counterpart's demise. Or actually, maybe it was better for the story that some peripheral character died in this way, to emphasize that the stakes were in fact life-and-death, which makes it all the more frustrating that so much energy put into preventing this exact worst-case scenario was apparently fruitless.

kubelkind wrote: Mon May 08, 2023 12:05 pm Final thought it how much this felt like a lockdown project for me. The liberation that the central character felt when he finally left the capsule and returned to the simple pleasures of a cup of tea in a cafe felt exhilarating and highly relatable given the events of the last few years. Did anyone else get that feeling?

A little bit, but it also feels like he's still a long way from home. I might also mention in case this gives anyone any ideas that the friend I saw this with was convinced that the mom who takes the picture at the end is the same actress that played John's wife, who you see in a photo early on in the film. They do have similar hair and eyebrows, but her face is otherwise obscured in the last scene. Also, if they're meant to be the same person, I'm not really sure what that would mean

The film's deliberately-anticlimactic denouement featuring a solitary man craving intimacy, but only able to actualize the melding of two homogenous things together with two sugar cubes in a coffee cup, is both cheekily absurdist and quietly tragic. It's a lot easier to forge connection when you have control over objects, but to risk a deeper attachment with Steven or engage with a group in humble compromise or venture into space is all too unpredictable, so scary, so maybe turbulent, so unmanageable. The film seems very interested in the narratives we form about ourselves and the self-constructed barriers that fortify them, which feeds into the text of its broader antisocial satire