Introspective

Rating: 9/10 (26 October 2015)

I'm not alone in noticing the similarities between "Interstellar" and "Contact".
Along with the space and time travel themes, there is the poignant father/daughter connection in both films. Both movies also have a spirituality, which a film such as "Prometheus" never achieves.
The effect is enhanced by their respective scores, a beautifully realised one by Alan Silvestri for "Contact" and a stunning one by Hans Zimmer for "Interstellar". Indeed, this has got to be close to Zimmer's best work; it is such an integral part of the movie and helps the characters express their deepest feelings.
Sci-fi movies usually fall into one of two categories; either they are special effects extravaganzas with loads of action and aliens or they are introspective, where much that happens could almost be an hallucination or caused by claustrophobia, time compression or some other phenomenon of space travel.
"2001: A Space Odyssey", "Moon", "Event Horizon" and "Solaris" as well as "Interstellar" and "Contact" fall into that latter category. Like many of the old episodes of "The Twilight Zone" and "The Outer Limits" they depend more on mood and ideas to make their impact - in the case of the old TV shows, budget and special effects limitations no doubt forced the writers to be more cerebral. But with a big budget film such as "Interstellar", the brilliant special effects enhance the profound and complex ideas in the story.
"Interstellar" also fulfils a requirement that Sam Goldwyn once stated - it's the last 5 minutes of a movie that makes it memorable. Like "Contact", "Interstellar" has a haunting last 5 minutes. To be honest, both "Contact" and "Interstellar" are long movies and there are passages in each that make you wonder where the story is going, but the powerful final scenes of both films give all the closure needed. It would be hard to think of more emotive scenes than the last ones in "Interstellar" - truly inspired filmmaking.
Seeing "Interstellar" made me want to see "Contact" again. I feel they are companion pieces despite being made years apart by different people - although Matthew McConaughey is in them both.
"Interstellar" is not light fare, it's not mindless effects oriented entertainment. If you are after a movie that will stay with you long after it has finished, it's a trip into inner and outer space well worth taking.