where the platform for manifestation of human conditions lies beyond

Rating: 8/10 (8 September 2016)

Never have I grown bored with science fiction works that borrow the theme of technologies to highlight the human conditions. Several dilemmas, personal encounters are brought up during the film.
Addressing the dilemmas, I find them essential in bringing home the humanitarian values of the movie. The captain's decision to leave Mars without Mark eats into her soul, a pivotal detail to predispose her to the doggedness to rescue him. The reluctance to reveal to the crew members the survival of Mark heightens tensions. Numerous other minor dilemmas take place, such as whether to employ the crew to continue the rescue mission or seek help from China to send supply. However, since they are resolved quite decisively in the film, I don't feel the need to shed any particular light on them.
The key plot of the film is the human's encounter with nature. His intelligence and expertise have proved useful in keeping him alive, apart from the assistance of the most knowledgeable minds from NASA. It is in fact pathetic to witness Mark literally keep himself sane by remain contact with whatever still deemed as possessing a connection with human beings: disco music, taking selfies, making jokes and fun of the NASA land unit.
I still, though, think that The Martian could have been more dynamic. Watching this reminisces me of Gravity, which authentically depicts the torment and resilience of a female astronaut lost in space. The portrayal of Mark is capped, due to the use of humour that is meant to alleviate the tension, but inadvertently render the story less of a tragedy. Had it been more tragic, the human conditions would have more room to manifest and be illustrated.