Apparently the writer thinks that only female astronauts are parents. Either that, or male astronauts don't really have relationships with their children. I don't think one would ever see a movie like this where a male astronaut's relationship with his child was the primary focus of the movie. And then, at the end of the movie, she does something really stupid that would very likely end her career and possibly put her colleagues in danger.
The parts of the movie that are about preparing to go into space were interesting (though slow), but the human drama parts were annoying.
67 Reviews
It's fine, but a bit pointless
DanLawson1466 August 2020
POSITIVES:
1) All the scenes with Eva Green's character, Sarah, and her daughter, Stella, are emotional and fantastic 2) I respected the film for not "Hollywoodising" its subject matter 3) There is a scene near the end where Sarah and Stella are talking through a glass shield and Stella's face reflects over Sarah's on the other side of the glass and it was such a beautiful shot
NEGATIVES:
1) I wasn't engaged at all by any of the scenes of Sarah's astronaut training 2) Matt Dillon's character was very cliche and underdeveloped 3) There is no score until the final 15 minutes and that made the film quite boring and not cinematic 4) The film doesn't really have any kind of purposeful story, it's a bit pointless 5) Despite going to a 1:20pm screening I genuinely felt my eyes closing at times
1) All the scenes with Eva Green's character, Sarah, and her daughter, Stella, are emotional and fantastic 2) I respected the film for not "Hollywoodising" its subject matter 3) There is a scene near the end where Sarah and Stella are talking through a glass shield and Stella's face reflects over Sarah's on the other side of the glass and it was such a beautiful shot
NEGATIVES:
1) I wasn't engaged at all by any of the scenes of Sarah's astronaut training 2) Matt Dillon's character was very cliche and underdeveloped 3) There is no score until the final 15 minutes and that made the film quite boring and not cinematic 4) The film doesn't really have any kind of purposeful story, it's a bit pointless 5) Despite going to a 1:20pm screening I genuinely felt my eyes closing at times
An emotive family drama that will disappoint those hoping for sci-fi bombast
Bertaut9 March 2020
Written by Alice Winocour and Jean-Stéphane Bron, and directed by Winocour, Proxima is the story of a mother and daughter trying to cope with impending separation. The fact that the mother is an astronaut and that the separation will result from a year-long mission to Mars is very much secondary. Instead, we're presented with something more universal and relatable - the often contradictory responsibilities one has to one's profession and one's family. At the same time, this (unapologetically feminist) film looks at the demands placed on a woman in a male-dominated field where machoism counts for something. More akin to "science fact" films such as The Right Stuff (1983) and First Man (2018) than recent science-fiction work such as Aniara (2018) or Ad Astra (2019), Proxima is a quiet story that maps in great detail the sheer force of will it takes to get into the condition necessary to go space. And although the narrative does sag in a couple of places, and Winocour frustratingly abandons realism in a crucial scene towards the end, Proxima is brilliantly acted throughout. It certainly won't appeal to those looking for the grandiosity or existentialism of classic sci-fi, but it remains a moving examination of motherhood.
In the near future, Sarah Loreau (a superb Eva Green) is a French astronaut based at the European Astronaut Centre (ESC) in Cologne. The only woman in the program, she lives with Stella (a stunning Zélie Boulant), her seven-year-old daughter. Unexpectedly, Sarah is chosen as a replacement for a crew member on the Proxima mission - a year-long three-person final exploratory mission to Mars before colonisation begins. Sarah begins her training at ESC, before travelling to the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City, Russia, and finally to the launch site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Alongside her are mission commander Mike Shannon (an excellent Matt Dillon), an experienced, but smug loudmouth who publically welcomes Sarah to the team by noting that as she's a French woman, she's probably a good cook, and Anton Ocheivsky (Aleksey Fateev), a soft-spoken Ukrainian cosmonaut. At the same time, Sarah is attempting to transition Stella into getting used to living with her father, Thomas (Lars Eidinger), a German astrophysicist from whom Sarah is amicably separated. However, the demands of the job and the concomitant separation put a huge strain on the bond between Sarah and Stella, to the extent that Sarah starts to consider dropping out of the mission altogether.
Proxima is Winocour's third film after Augustine (2012) and the criminally underrated Maryland (2015), both of which deal with intense, highly skilled men who are torn between their professional and private lives, in a similar manner to so many Michael Mann protagonists (and antagonists). With Proxima, however, Winocour moves into uncharted territory - although the protagonist here faces a similar struggle, for the first time, that protagonist is female.
One way Winocour examines the theme of private vs. professional is her use of a recurring motif involving an ESC employee trying to get Sarah to sign papers stating whether or not she wants to be informed should anything happen to Stella. The knee-jerk reaction, of course, is that she should sign them immediately - what kind of person wouldn't want to know if their child was ill or even dead? However, as Winocour presents it, it's more complicated than that; think of Sarah's helplessness - she'd be stuck in space knowing that Stella is dead, but having to complete her assignment anyway. And so Sarah finds her attachment to Stella in conflict with her commitment to the longevity of the mission.
This motif also speaks to the feminist restructuring of a traditionally male narrative. By suggesting that a mother might choose her job over her daughter, even if only for a year, Winocour highlights that whilst it's socially acceptable for men to leave children behind (Mike speaks proudly of his young sons), it's something of a social taboo that women could do so. Another element of the film's feminine (if not necessarily feminist) quality relates to practical biological differences. For example, Sarah is told that tampons count towards her personal weight limit, whilst she has to be moulded for a smaller chair than Mike and Anton.
Aesthetically, the film adopts a realist approach which is almost documentarian in places. Clearly, Winocour and Bron did huge amounts of research, and it helps the sense of authenticity immensely that it was shot on location at the real ESC, Yuri Gagarin Centre, and Baikonur Cosmodrome; in the case of the Yuri Gagarin Centre, Proxima was the first feature film granted access to shoot in the real prophylactorium, with the crew granted the same accreditation as the on-site scientists.
In terms of problems, certainly, if you go into this expecting sci-fi, you're going to be bitterly disappointed. However, the itself makes no bones about the fact that it's the story of a mother and daughter, not a piece of science fiction, and one can only engage with it on its own terms. Another issue is that the narrative does drag in places, and ten minutes or so could have been shaved off the run time. Perhaps the biggest issue I had is that Winocour abandons her rigid adherence to realism for a sequence towards the end of the film which not only strains credibility but is tonally different from everything around it.
Proxima is a small story of a mother and her daughter set against a vast background - the macro is simply the context for the micro. Examining the pain of separation and the clash between the professional and the private from a uniquely feminist point of view, it carries a universal message that will surely speak to any mother who has wrestled with the conflict between pursuing her own dreams and the demands placed on her by having children. However, make no mistake, this is a celebration of the feminine rather than a woke attack on the masculine - men aren't the of the joke or the target of anger, they're simply not very important to the story. A space movie about a woman that takes place entirely on Earth, Proxima is another strong piece of work from a very talented director.
In the near future, Sarah Loreau (a superb Eva Green) is a French astronaut based at the European Astronaut Centre (ESC) in Cologne. The only woman in the program, she lives with Stella (a stunning Zélie Boulant), her seven-year-old daughter. Unexpectedly, Sarah is chosen as a replacement for a crew member on the Proxima mission - a year-long three-person final exploratory mission to Mars before colonisation begins. Sarah begins her training at ESC, before travelling to the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City, Russia, and finally to the launch site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Alongside her are mission commander Mike Shannon (an excellent Matt Dillon), an experienced, but smug loudmouth who publically welcomes Sarah to the team by noting that as she's a French woman, she's probably a good cook, and Anton Ocheivsky (Aleksey Fateev), a soft-spoken Ukrainian cosmonaut. At the same time, Sarah is attempting to transition Stella into getting used to living with her father, Thomas (Lars Eidinger), a German astrophysicist from whom Sarah is amicably separated. However, the demands of the job and the concomitant separation put a huge strain on the bond between Sarah and Stella, to the extent that Sarah starts to consider dropping out of the mission altogether.
Proxima is Winocour's third film after Augustine (2012) and the criminally underrated Maryland (2015), both of which deal with intense, highly skilled men who are torn between their professional and private lives, in a similar manner to so many Michael Mann protagonists (and antagonists). With Proxima, however, Winocour moves into uncharted territory - although the protagonist here faces a similar struggle, for the first time, that protagonist is female.
One way Winocour examines the theme of private vs. professional is her use of a recurring motif involving an ESC employee trying to get Sarah to sign papers stating whether or not she wants to be informed should anything happen to Stella. The knee-jerk reaction, of course, is that she should sign them immediately - what kind of person wouldn't want to know if their child was ill or even dead? However, as Winocour presents it, it's more complicated than that; think of Sarah's helplessness - she'd be stuck in space knowing that Stella is dead, but having to complete her assignment anyway. And so Sarah finds her attachment to Stella in conflict with her commitment to the longevity of the mission.
This motif also speaks to the feminist restructuring of a traditionally male narrative. By suggesting that a mother might choose her job over her daughter, even if only for a year, Winocour highlights that whilst it's socially acceptable for men to leave children behind (Mike speaks proudly of his young sons), it's something of a social taboo that women could do so. Another element of the film's feminine (if not necessarily feminist) quality relates to practical biological differences. For example, Sarah is told that tampons count towards her personal weight limit, whilst she has to be moulded for a smaller chair than Mike and Anton.
Aesthetically, the film adopts a realist approach which is almost documentarian in places. Clearly, Winocour and Bron did huge amounts of research, and it helps the sense of authenticity immensely that it was shot on location at the real ESC, Yuri Gagarin Centre, and Baikonur Cosmodrome; in the case of the Yuri Gagarin Centre, Proxima was the first feature film granted access to shoot in the real prophylactorium, with the crew granted the same accreditation as the on-site scientists.
In terms of problems, certainly, if you go into this expecting sci-fi, you're going to be bitterly disappointed. However, the itself makes no bones about the fact that it's the story of a mother and daughter, not a piece of science fiction, and one can only engage with it on its own terms. Another issue is that the narrative does drag in places, and ten minutes or so could have been shaved off the run time. Perhaps the biggest issue I had is that Winocour abandons her rigid adherence to realism for a sequence towards the end of the film which not only strains credibility but is tonally different from everything around it.
Proxima is a small story of a mother and her daughter set against a vast background - the macro is simply the context for the micro. Examining the pain of separation and the clash between the professional and the private from a uniquely feminist point of view, it carries a universal message that will surely speak to any mother who has wrestled with the conflict between pursuing her own dreams and the demands placed on her by having children. However, make no mistake, this is a celebration of the feminine rather than a woke attack on the masculine - men aren't the of the joke or the target of anger, they're simply not very important to the story. A space movie about a woman that takes place entirely on Earth, Proxima is another strong piece of work from a very talented director.
Difficulties of leaving family behind for a long space mission.
TxMike13 February 2021
The subject is a European Space Agency mission called Proxima, astronauts will travel from the Russian launch site to the space station and stay there living and working for a year. The prime subject of the movie is the single French mom who has an eight year old daughter. Being separated for that long will be difficult for both of them.
This is not a space action movie, in fact it ends with the blast off. It is a character study, surely inspired by the many mothers who have done something similar over the past 35 to 40 years. During the end credits are a montage of several female astronauts and their families, from a variety of countries.
This is a good movie, my wife and I enjoyed it at home on DVD from our public library.
This is not a space action movie, in fact it ends with the blast off. It is a character study, surely inspired by the many mothers who have done something similar over the past 35 to 40 years. During the end credits are a montage of several female astronauts and their families, from a variety of countries.
This is a good movie, my wife and I enjoyed it at home on DVD from our public library.
working mom
SnoopyStyle11 March 2021
Warning: Spoilers
French astronaut Sarah Loreau (Eva Green) is training to go on a year long mission on the International Space Station. She faces resistance from team leader Mike Shannon (Matt Dillon). The divorced mother's biggest hurdle may be leaving behind her young daughter with needs.
It's an emotional drama of a mother trying to have it all. It's good although the quarantine threw me off. It's the breaking of the quarantine. I get the emotional climax of reuniting mother and child. In a way, it shows weakness which is a little awkward as if Mike's original perception is right. It's also possibly more compelling and emotionally more powerful for them to maintain the separation. It's a big cinematic move. It's a choice. It's not a wrong choice but it does not feel right for some reason. In its most basic level, this is a movie about a working mom struggling with working mom issues.
It's an emotional drama of a mother trying to have it all. It's good although the quarantine threw me off. It's the breaking of the quarantine. I get the emotional climax of reuniting mother and child. In a way, it shows weakness which is a little awkward as if Mike's original perception is right. It's also possibly more compelling and emotionally more powerful for them to maintain the separation. It's a big cinematic move. It's a choice. It's not a wrong choice but it does not feel right for some reason. In its most basic level, this is a movie about a working mom struggling with working mom issues.
Family and career choice
shiguangmimi19 April 2020
A Good Film that Could Have Been Great
ianh-605812 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I knew nothing about this film until I saw the trailer and I watched it mainly for Eva Green and the astronaut training background which looked (and was) very realistic.
The job of a trailer is to sell the film but I think the one I saw gave a fair presentation of this as a character piece with astronaut training as the background. Not sure why people thought it would be a sci-fi film (which I like) as there are no shots in space nor even in the trailer I saw of the rocket taking off. Eva Green has done quite a bit of fantasy/quirky characters but not much straight out action since Bond.
First the good. Eva Green is excellent as is Zelie Boulant as her daughter. I'm not the biggest fan of children in films but she came over as very natural and more of a challenge for two scientists to have a dyslexic child rather than a prodigy. The overall look of the film and cinematography is very good and I liked the scenes filmed in Russia. It had a very functional and slightly run down look as opposed to the Hollywood gloss when NASA is depicted in films.
There are some nice touches of expecting women to fit into a male environment - short hair is easier, if she wants feminine hygiene products as opposed to the alternative then they are part of her weight allowance (luxury products!).
I also liked some of the character aspects such as the chaperone describing the daughter as a chatterbox talking about a boy she liked when she barely talked to her mother.
For a female orientated film the male characters are all reasonably presented with their own flaws rather than hated on - the father who has his daughter for occasional weekends is capable of looking after her, although where in the world is it acceptable to leave an 8 year old on their own for hours? I was concerned that Matt Dillon's character would be presented as a MCP after the scene in the trailer where he introduces Eva Green's character and said that at least with a French woman the food will be good (although it is not uncommon in my experience for a man to introduce a woman with a supposedly humorous comment that is actually demeaning), but he was overall OK but with a different background/attitude (military versus scientific) that could have been built on.
The press/social media aspect was well presented (and intrusive) and shows how important press coverage is to the space program to keep it in the public eye and secure funding.
Now for the very very very bad. That scene 10 minutes before the end that other reviewers have mentioned which derails the realism and nearly destroys the film. I think it is done to redeem the mother and prove that you can have it all. It is unnecessary as Eva Green is an excellent actress who has made the mother a sympathetic character. They then make it worse by the next scene which is meant to make it all OK and if you are not convinced then here is a shot of Ms Green's (admittedly very nice) breasts which is out of keeping with the rest of the film - there had been some minor nudity prior to that which I think showed her vulnerability.
I think it would have been better for the promised thing either not to be done, be done prior to the final stages of preparation or for the father to do it. It would show that having one thing doesn't mean you can't have the other thing but sacrifices will always have to be made.
You would also have been left wondering what the mother/daughter relationship would be like when she returned.
The job of a trailer is to sell the film but I think the one I saw gave a fair presentation of this as a character piece with astronaut training as the background. Not sure why people thought it would be a sci-fi film (which I like) as there are no shots in space nor even in the trailer I saw of the rocket taking off. Eva Green has done quite a bit of fantasy/quirky characters but not much straight out action since Bond.
First the good. Eva Green is excellent as is Zelie Boulant as her daughter. I'm not the biggest fan of children in films but she came over as very natural and more of a challenge for two scientists to have a dyslexic child rather than a prodigy. The overall look of the film and cinematography is very good and I liked the scenes filmed in Russia. It had a very functional and slightly run down look as opposed to the Hollywood gloss when NASA is depicted in films.
There are some nice touches of expecting women to fit into a male environment - short hair is easier, if she wants feminine hygiene products as opposed to the alternative then they are part of her weight allowance (luxury products!).
I also liked some of the character aspects such as the chaperone describing the daughter as a chatterbox talking about a boy she liked when she barely talked to her mother.
For a female orientated film the male characters are all reasonably presented with their own flaws rather than hated on - the father who has his daughter for occasional weekends is capable of looking after her, although where in the world is it acceptable to leave an 8 year old on their own for hours? I was concerned that Matt Dillon's character would be presented as a MCP after the scene in the trailer where he introduces Eva Green's character and said that at least with a French woman the food will be good (although it is not uncommon in my experience for a man to introduce a woman with a supposedly humorous comment that is actually demeaning), but he was overall OK but with a different background/attitude (military versus scientific) that could have been built on.
The press/social media aspect was well presented (and intrusive) and shows how important press coverage is to the space program to keep it in the public eye and secure funding.
Now for the very very very bad. That scene 10 minutes before the end that other reviewers have mentioned which derails the realism and nearly destroys the film. I think it is done to redeem the mother and prove that you can have it all. It is unnecessary as Eva Green is an excellent actress who has made the mother a sympathetic character. They then make it worse by the next scene which is meant to make it all OK and if you are not convinced then here is a shot of Ms Green's (admittedly very nice) breasts which is out of keeping with the rest of the film - there had been some minor nudity prior to that which I think showed her vulnerability.
I think it would have been better for the promised thing either not to be done, be done prior to the final stages of preparation or for the father to do it. It would show that having one thing doesn't mean you can't have the other thing but sacrifices will always have to be made.
You would also have been left wondering what the mother/daughter relationship would be like when she returned.
Upcoming Separation or Good Drama About Mother and Her Daughter
lyubitelfilmov26 April 2020
Drama. A new picture with the participation of my favorite actress Eva Green. How could I pass by? Why didn't I go to the cinema? Yes, everything is simple, because this picture was not even brought to the regional center of our great and vast country, what can I say about my favorite movie theater in a small town (in which even "Gentlemen" were not shown). Sessions were only in Moscow and the northern capital. I personally could not do anything about it, so I had to wait for the premiere in digital form, which I got to just now. And here is my brief opinion for you - a good drama about mother and daughter. Since I managed to see at the moment a huge number of paintings, the experienced eye itself found various shoals and so on. But, nevertheless, in order to bring a pinch of objectivity, I'll tell you not only about the minuses, but also about the advantages of this picture, so that you can determine for yourself whether it is worth your attention and your time, or not. Then I finish with the preface, and proceed to the analysis.
So, the pros:
1. History - the film will discuss the difficult relationships of a young woman who has become an astronaut (I will call her "astronaut" in the Russian manner, for this word is much more pleasant and closer to me than an "astronaut"), who will have a long and dangerous mission and her daughters, with all the ensuing consequences. The heroine of Eve is also divorced at the same time, so the relationship with the ex is also layered on all the unfolding events. I can't say that the drama turned out to be strong and tearful, but I can't even name it bad, because the actors really tried. I was already afraid that when watching it I would fall asleep, but Eve and the others made me keep track of what was happening almost continuously, since the timing of the picture turned out just so that it would not become boring to the viewer.
2. Russia - a picture of European production, but was shot mostly in Star City and in Baikonur, which is good. I am always interested in any appearance of Russia or Russians (well, either the USSR or Soviet people) in foreign cinema. And, let alone hide, almost always we appear in the form of spreading cranberries with bears, vodka and balalaika. This is not observed here, we are shown by ordinary people, with their concerns and problems, one Russian cosmonaut is worth something. The painting mentions Yura Gagarin - the first person to fly into space, the memory of which is heavily etched both in the West and in our country, which makes us sad. The Russian speech of the heroes is good, not without accent, and the Russian actors did their best.
3. Mood - it is rather melancholy throughout the whole picture. Since the picture is European, I was afraid to fall asleep from everything that was happening, but again, the actors saved. Let's just say that if you have a similar mood - this picture definitely suits you, you will definitely get some pleasure.
So cons:
1. Nasty scenes - Dear European directors! Why do you have scenes of vomiting and other muck in every picture? Do you have such a fetish? Or installation from upstream producers? Don't think wrong, I'm not a hypocrite, it's just that all the European cinema that I watched in four years contained similar scenes. Is it really that necessary? Are they revealing the image? I will answer you - No! Thank God that when I watched I did not chew anything, otherwise there would be a nuisance. Could you really show these scenes with respect to the viewer? Well, at least with the closed door of the toilet cubicle!
2. Scenario miscalculations - despite the simplicity of the story and familiar types, there are several points in the picture that raise some logical questions that no one will answer. There were two such moments, and then, they are very noticeable. Perhaps you will find more.
3. Music - the second fetish of European directors is that they do not really like to bother with music in their paintings. Everything repeated here. You don't think, there is music, but in very rare moments that only emphasize the general melancholy. I would like more music!
A little about the main characters:
1. Sarah Loro, performed by Eva Green, is a French astronaut who has a difficult mission in outer space. Eve again pleased me with her acting, forcing me to literally admire every frame with her participation. And what else is remembered - the final credits dedicated to women who have visited Space - a strong promise. At first I thought that this was another feminist attack, as was the case in "Birds of Prey", but no. This is a tribute to the feat of the weak half of humanity, who have become explorers of the Cosmos on a par with men, remaining themselves - and this is the most important thing. The heroine of Eve is strong, but sometimes shows weakness, shows emotions, she is a living person, and not a robot that performs mechanical commands. Eve once again pleased me! A whole pen Mademoiselle Green!
2. Mike Shannon performed by Matt Dillon - American astronaut, crew member, which includes Sarah. A little proud, arrogant, but at a critical moment can save a life. At first, this hero did not arouse my sympathy, but gradually his image was revealed and I believed him. Matt played this character well. Well done!
3. Anton Ochievsky performed by Alexander Fateev - Russian astronaut, crew member with Matt and Sarah. A good-natured person, from the first appearance in the frame, takes care of Sarah and the rest. Reliance team. An ordinary person with his problems and concerns. Alexander definitely managed, there's nothing to complain about! Well done!
And I can not help but mention Sarah's daughter performed by Zeli Bulan, who played very well. Their relationship is just a must see and feel.
How sad it may sound, but this picture is one-time, just like the two previous European paintings with the participation of Eva Green - "Euphoria" and "Based on real events." Once looked, maybe even admired - and the next day I safely forgot. So happen this time.
As a result, we have a good drama about the difficult relationship of mother and daughter with a melancholy mood, atmosphere of music, an interesting story told, with several serious problems, and with good acting, especially the beautiful Eva Green!
It's European cinema. Americans, be( a-)ware!
matyagriffioen1 December 2020
As European cinema is not about special effects and love stories with explosions on the background, but rather about things that are real, common and confronting, this movie is anything but a disappointment if you are familiar with the style.
If you like a good book, this is a film you should watch. It's about the little things of personal interaction. About sharing precious moments, or breaking promises. ("love vs struggle")
This movie makes you reflect on yourself, as you will not always understand why your main character does what she does. How she is capable of leaving Earth being a mother.
I have read reviews about the movie being full with stereotypes and cliché's. I think the truth is quite the opposite. Russians seem to be the friendliest and most supportive people in the world. An ex-husband who is (on a distance) emotionally involved in her life. An American ex-soldier actually reciting poetry, and children acting like children.
If you rate this low, you are simply not on their level!
If you like a good book, this is a film you should watch. It's about the little things of personal interaction. About sharing precious moments, or breaking promises. ("love vs struggle")
This movie makes you reflect on yourself, as you will not always understand why your main character does what she does. How she is capable of leaving Earth being a mother.
I have read reviews about the movie being full with stereotypes and cliché's. I think the truth is quite the opposite. Russians seem to be the friendliest and most supportive people in the world. An ex-husband who is (on a distance) emotionally involved in her life. An American ex-soldier actually reciting poetry, and children acting like children.
If you rate this low, you are simply not on their level!
A well researched Earth film
brian-245728 February 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Glasgow Film Festival 2020 Opening gala.
q and a from french/german writer/director. Good to hear re the research and some of the filming taking place at real astronaut training environments and launch sites. Apparently real astronauts were interviewed and observed. Good representation of absent parent and effects on child and ex partner etc. Heightened by the danger involved in the anticipated space travel however this is very much an earth film about a mother rather than a space film. Liked astronaut Mike performance. Enjoyed 7/10
Flatline on story
KittyWitty9179 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Although the acting was very good at best, (***Spoiler Alert***), the story was flat....about the personal turmoil of one astronauts about to leave her daughter for a year.
There could have been a "consequence" built into the story line to make the movie more interesting with some intensity....but the writers didn't go in that direction,
which ultimately failed in the end. I could have written three possible better endings. Instead, we just watched a mother and young 8 year old daughter go through their personal journeys, all the while seeing the mother astronaut not dealing well with leaving, resisting and breaking the rules, putting her co astronauts at risk.....
and then the rocket takes off. I felt it didn't make for a very captivating and interesting story. Actually one stays with the movie "waiting" for the story to turn to some struggling epoch ending....and it doesn't. There it fails.
Good sincere cinema.
mdurlak-6905112 May 2020
Proxima is a very sincere, intimate and devoid of pathos cinema. This is the psychological portrait of a woman devoted to her dream of flying into space.
When the main character approaches her goal, she begins to understand how difficult it will be to leave the planet. The picture is more like a documentary than a science fiction story.
Great Eva Green and good pictures of the Bajkonur spaceport deserve praise.
Undermined at the end
murkee31 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
This isn't a film about space, but rather, about motherhood. That's all fine - it was all very well done (though Matt Dillon was a bit two dimensional - a bit more than one note, but only just).
The whole film, though, was completely undermined by the breaking of quarantine - it showed a lack of professionalism that undercut everything else about balancing home life and the extraordinary commitment of the astronaut. It did have some nice shots of the launch pad in Kazakhstan, but it was ridiculous.
The whole film, though, was completely undermined by the breaking of quarantine - it showed a lack of professionalism that undercut everything else about balancing home life and the extraordinary commitment of the astronaut. It did have some nice shots of the launch pad in Kazakhstan, but it was ridiculous.
If you are expecting a sci-fi movie, you'll be disappointed...
gcarpiceci29 November 2019
If you are a die-hard sci-fi fan, then you're likely to be disappointed by Proxima, which presents itself as a sci-fi movie but it's not. This is a movie about the relationship between a divorced mother, Sarah, and her young daughter, Stella; now, Sarah happens to be an astronaut selected for an all important mission on the ISS, so more specifically the plot could be described as: "what happens to a mother-daughter relationship when the mother is about to leave the earth for a 1-year long mission in the space". I would presume this would restrict dramatically the probabilities of viewer identification with the situation...
In reality, the space mission is just a very light background to the human relationship story; per se, this would not even be a big problem for me if the story was good. Unfortunately, I found that even the story about the mother and the daughter was very predictable and very cliché. Moreover, one element was rather annoying for me, ie. that our mother astronaut is ultimately a quite irresponsible person. Astronauts are supposed to be vary cold-blooded, very rational people, highly trained and prepared- physically and mentally - for their missions. Now, what the lady astronaut discovers on the eve of the mission (she misses her daughter) was not so hard to guess before embarking into it. But the lack of self-assessment of her limits puts at risk the mission, the work of her colleagues and the millions invested into it.
Turgid melodrama
VoyagerMN19868 January 2020
It isn't a question of how flashy the sci fi is, it is a question of how interesting and challenge it is. Proxima is neither. In fact it is so didactic as to be insulting to the audience and seems to assume the audience are dullards that need repetition.
Good but disappointing
fr0w13 March 2021
Eva Green is amazing as usual. The story typical French faire. Interesting to see a side you don't normally see in astronaut movies, that others either ignore or gloss over; the impact on family when you leave even if it was a bit melodramatic. However any real feminist strides made is negated by the protagonists inability to control her emotional fuel actions. A trope that's old and tired. Unfortunately without it it, there wouldn't be any drama, and I'm glad they didn't pursue the even more tired trope of "woman in a man's world". Although they kind of touch on it, which was fine because it would feel weird out of place if it ignored. Watch it just for Eva Green
Alice Winocour
yusufpiskin15 August 2020
-"French women are really good when it comes to... cooking."
-When you were a kid singing "Frere Jacques"
-He also refers to her as "space tourist"
A sublime and intimate portrayal of family life. It just so happens that mummy is an astronaut. But what's really wonderful here is the humanisation of a career path, showing that no matter what you do for a living, we are all vulnerable and we are all affected by our very human nature and core emotions. A truly beautiful film conveyed intelligently and seamlessly in four languages without ever being jarring or grandiose.
Eva Green is just excellent, as is Matt Dillon, who together break down perceived stereotypes to achieve something rather special and very touching. A deft hand in direction here allows the subtle themes to slowly seep through your pores and grab you before you realise what's happened.
My first visit to the cinema following lockdown was worth the wait.
Recommended.
A sublime and intimate portrayal of family life. It just so happens that mummy is an astronaut. But what's really wonderful here is the humanisation of a career path, showing that no matter what you do for a living, we are all vulnerable and we are all affected by our very human nature and core emotions. A truly beautiful film conveyed intelligently and seamlessly in four languages without ever being jarring or grandiose.
Eva Green is just excellent, as is Matt Dillon, who together break down perceived stereotypes to achieve something rather special and very touching. A deft hand in direction here allows the subtle themes to slowly seep through your pores and grab you before you realise what's happened.
My first visit to the cinema following lockdown was worth the wait.
Recommended.
Found it emotionally potent but it's not for everyone.
chervenkov14 April 2021
As some of the other reviewers state, this movie's plot should be consider boring and uninspired. The focus is on the Eva Green's character's relationship with her child, the fact she is literally leaving the planet, gives it an interesting twist. What makes the film work for me, is the acting since it gives the scenes a ton of depth, the entire premise is to make you empathize with them. As the moment of "departure" approaches both protagonists undergo emotional turmoil and it really intensifies close to the end, feels like the gradual build is the intention behind the slow pace, some might find uneventful. There are some interesting paradoxes - the exact moment that signifies she has succeeded in the becoming astronaut, her life purpose, is the same moment she dreads, since it means separation form her child for 6 months. At one point the girl even seems to feel her mother is abandoning her and how could she not.
Favorite quote "The hardest part, is when you come back and realize, everyone was doing fine without you". There could have been more snippets into the personal life of the other astronauts, as that seems to be the theme. Feels like a lost opportunity. I don't have children and generally can't stand melodramatic movies. However there is something about the acting and cinematography that make this movie unique, it is just so realistic and it simply sucks you in.
Favorite quote "The hardest part, is when you come back and realize, everyone was doing fine without you". There could have been more snippets into the personal life of the other astronauts, as that seems to be the theme. Feels like a lost opportunity. I don't have children and generally can't stand melodramatic movies. However there is something about the acting and cinematography that make this movie unique, it is just so realistic and it simply sucks you in.
Proxima
rnixon-1566315 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Proxima
2020
12A
Director: Alice Winocour
Starring: Eva Greene, Zelia Boulant, Matt Dillon, Lars Eidinger, Sandra Huller etc
Overall rating 71/100
Proxima is about a single French mother called Sarah (Eva Green), who is training to become an astronaut and go to mars, but after her daughter struggles with being separated from her, she must decide on her dream or to stay with her daughter. Proxima was a solid drama, but did have issues that held it back.
My first few positives would be the cinematography, the connection between the mother and daughter and the themes. The film had fantastic cinematography, with some fantastic shots that took your breath away in some interesting locations that took you into the film really well. The connection between the mother and daughter was also great, the chemistry between both actors here was great, and their relationship was very charming and believable so whenever they were together on screen it just worked. Also the themes expressed were also very good, the film tackled some good issues, including the negative attitudes towards women being as capable as men, but the character of Sarah handled herself very well in these situations which made her very likeable, but also the themes of separation and being the best mother possible was handled fairly well and sensitively.
My next couple of positives would be the likeable characters and charming tone. The character of Sarah was very likeable throughout, her relationship with her daughter was very special and explored well, she rose above all the doubts from everyone else, she never gave up and achieved her dreams, becoming an inspiring person to watch, the daughter was also very likeable, to see her confidence grow in terms of her school and social life was great to watch, and how she handled being away from her mum was powerful and often heart-breaking to watch. The film also had a lovely charming tone, it didn't need to have big action scenes or loads of CGI in order to be good, Proxima had a natural and real charm to it's characters and plot.
My few negatives would be the un realistic dialogue for the child, pacing issues, and the film not going deep enough with the themes and develop between Sarah and Stella (Zellia Boulant). I thought the dialogue largely at the beginning of the movie was to unrealistic for Stella's character. Her talking about her mum dying and how many kids she wants when she is that young wouldn't really happen in real life and was slightly inappropriate and off-putting. The pacing was fairly slow, throughout the movie it was very slow and the pacing did make me lose interest in the movie from time to time, which was a shame as it made some parts of the movie lose their impact. And finally I felt like they could of went deeper into the themes and development between Sarah and Stella, I felt like the movie largely only touched the surface and played it safe with the issues of being separated from your child, this took away a lot of the emotional impact that the film was trying to deliver, there was just enough development for me to be connected to the characters but not enough for me to be emotionally connected.
My final few positives would be the performances, equal amount of time spent on the mother and daughter and the powerful ending. The performances here were very good. Eva Green was fantastic, she showed a lot of emotional depth in the film, and her performance and charm made her character very likeable. Also the performance from Zellia Boulard was also very good, for a child so young she showed a lot of versality and promise throughout, handling all of her emotional scenes very well. I also liked that they managed to spend an equal amount of time on developing Sarah as well as Stella, this made you understand and care for both characters and what they were feeling throughout the movie, so whenever they were together on screen you understood what they were going through emotionally in their heads. And finally the ending was powerful, Sarah and Stella's final meeting was very well done and emotional, and for Sarah to finally take off in the rocket was captivating to watch.
Overall Proxima is a well-acted, visually thrilling and sensitively handled drama. That sadly plays it safe with what could have been a more emotionally impactful and more consistently paced film.
Overall rating 71/100
Proxima is about a single French mother called Sarah (Eva Green), who is training to become an astronaut and go to mars, but after her daughter struggles with being separated from her, she must decide on her dream or to stay with her daughter. Proxima was a solid drama, but did have issues that held it back.
My first few positives would be the cinematography, the connection between the mother and daughter and the themes. The film had fantastic cinematography, with some fantastic shots that took your breath away in some interesting locations that took you into the film really well. The connection between the mother and daughter was also great, the chemistry between both actors here was great, and their relationship was very charming and believable so whenever they were together on screen it just worked. Also the themes expressed were also very good, the film tackled some good issues, including the negative attitudes towards women being as capable as men, but the character of Sarah handled herself very well in these situations which made her very likeable, but also the themes of separation and being the best mother possible was handled fairly well and sensitively.
My next couple of positives would be the likeable characters and charming tone. The character of Sarah was very likeable throughout, her relationship with her daughter was very special and explored well, she rose above all the doubts from everyone else, she never gave up and achieved her dreams, becoming an inspiring person to watch, the daughter was also very likeable, to see her confidence grow in terms of her school and social life was great to watch, and how she handled being away from her mum was powerful and often heart-breaking to watch. The film also had a lovely charming tone, it didn't need to have big action scenes or loads of CGI in order to be good, Proxima had a natural and real charm to it's characters and plot.
My few negatives would be the un realistic dialogue for the child, pacing issues, and the film not going deep enough with the themes and develop between Sarah and Stella (Zellia Boulant). I thought the dialogue largely at the beginning of the movie was to unrealistic for Stella's character. Her talking about her mum dying and how many kids she wants when she is that young wouldn't really happen in real life and was slightly inappropriate and off-putting. The pacing was fairly slow, throughout the movie it was very slow and the pacing did make me lose interest in the movie from time to time, which was a shame as it made some parts of the movie lose their impact. And finally I felt like they could of went deeper into the themes and development between Sarah and Stella, I felt like the movie largely only touched the surface and played it safe with the issues of being separated from your child, this took away a lot of the emotional impact that the film was trying to deliver, there was just enough development for me to be connected to the characters but not enough for me to be emotionally connected.
My final few positives would be the performances, equal amount of time spent on the mother and daughter and the powerful ending. The performances here were very good. Eva Green was fantastic, she showed a lot of emotional depth in the film, and her performance and charm made her character very likeable. Also the performance from Zellia Boulard was also very good, for a child so young she showed a lot of versality and promise throughout, handling all of her emotional scenes very well. I also liked that they managed to spend an equal amount of time on developing Sarah as well as Stella, this made you understand and care for both characters and what they were feeling throughout the movie, so whenever they were together on screen you understood what they were going through emotionally in their heads. And finally the ending was powerful, Sarah and Stella's final meeting was very well done and emotional, and for Sarah to finally take off in the rocket was captivating to watch.
Overall Proxima is a well-acted, visually thrilling and sensitively handled drama. That sadly plays it safe with what could have been a more emotionally impactful and more consistently paced film.
Finally
asunaric24 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
A film that doesn't make me want to fast forward!
It's unpretentious, down-to-earth. Music,story, acting, etc everything about it is unpretentious and therefore effective.
Love how basically it says that even though humans want to reach for the stars, the main stars to be reached are people/things on Earth. Everything is right here and not out there.
Superb!
Look at me! I'm a woman astronaut!
falbpe16 June 2020
We all know that women are extraordinary strong beings, capable of great and difficulty tasks. Even properly mutated, they have destroyed plagues of zombies and saved the planet, more than once, at least in Hollywood. So, my only critic with that movie is... Why she does something so stupid in the end, and in such an unbelievable cinematic way? And, without any consequences? Sadly, that part don't fit with the realistic tone of the rest of the film. Overall, it's a interesting movie about the space, and the great challenges for the body and the soul that awaiting, even in the orbit of the Earth, for the adventurous spirits that left the planet behind. The space tourism and the colonization of another worlds remain today in 2020 just chimeras, against the hard true of the tragic vacuum beyond the Earth, with all its radiation and countless dangers, but that movies give us a glimpse of reality and some of hope for the human race, with all its small achievements. Very good work of Dillon, like the American cowboy, and Green, the incredibly beautiful french astronaut, of course.
The director of this movie missed her own point....of the strengths of women.
jazzman-9377428 March 2021
I give this film 1 star...and that 1 star goes to the actors...because that's the only thing worthy of this film (Matt & Eva); in the attempt to project women's role in space & science..the director totally blew it....instead of strength and fortitude and vision.....she ended up serving a mixed salad bowl of weakness, incompetency, melodramatic senses, and "emotions over scientific mindset" for the main female character....resulting in the most boring, non-nonsensical, erroneous and brainless view of scientific woman..........totally contrary to the amazing caliber of women we have working in the space programs today . It seems the director allowed all of her bag of emotions to spoil the film for everyone...including for the actors. She clearly missed her own point. Opportunity missed.
Beautiful movie, but don't expect flashy sci-fi
adrien_fallou8 December 2019
The movie centers on Sarah, a French astronaut undergoing training before going to the Internation Space Station, and her relationship with her somewhat sensitive daughter Stella. We alternate between her gruelling training and her difficulties being a mother at the same time.
Don't expect flashy sci-fi here; the action remains firmly grounded on Earth, with most scenes either at the European Space Agency center in Cologne (looks like any adminstrative building), Germany or in the post-Soviet setting of Star City in Baïkonur, Kazakhstan.
Eva Green's performance is amazing, though her role suffers a little from a less-than-realistic twist towards the end. I found Zélie Boulant, who plays little Stella, equally impressive; and the mother-daughter relationship really makes for a beautiful story. The supporting cast is also very good, I though Matt Dillon did a good job as a tough-but-fair NASA astronaut going on the same mission as Sarah. His character seemed a bit like a cliché boorish-American-guy at first, but that faded away fast enough.
Drama, no action
nazarov-cavid24 April 2020
A Starless Projection...
Xstal31 July 2020
The psychoanalyst who put these budding astronauts through their paces must have been having a bad day but it leaves hope that reading Space for Dummies is enough to qualify. Nonsensical and dreadful, especially the end.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
