10 Years of Interstellar

Every now and then, when I find myself in front of the TV with some time to spare and don’t really know what to watch, I watch bits of Interstellar. 

It’s been 10 years since the film’s release , but the grandeur, the dazzle, and the profound sense of awe that I felt when I first saw the film have never faded. It’s a film that never gets old. 

I wonder what makes it such a great film.

Is it the storyline that transcends the boundaries of stars, planets, black holes, and dimensions? Yet, when you look closely, at its heart, it’s a story of human emotion depicting a father-child bond.

Perhaps it’s the breathtaking visuals that bring esoteric concepts like general relativity, space-time warps, and wormholes to life. Think of the sheer scale of Miller’s planet, the mind-numbing size of Gargantua, and Cooper’s ultimate sacrifice as he plunges into its singularity.  

What about the docking scene! I vividly remember the experience of watching it on a giant IMAX screen. It was so enthralling that the audience erupted into applause at the end (something I haven’t witnessed since). Nolan’s genius lies in combining scientific rigour with pulsating drama and delivering it on an unimaginable scale. 

Complementing the visual splendour is Zimmer’s evocative soundtrack that elevates every single scene to a different plane. The relentless ticking on Miller’s planet subconsciously places you in the shoes of those astronauts desperately trying to come back to their ship, as giant mountains waves come crashing towards them.

I can’t really pinpoint a single aspect that makes it such a great film.  But I am certain of what makes it so memorable.

The film’s greatest legacy is its ability to  inspire us to think big and envision possibilites beyond our current understanding. 

Sometimes, science isn’t good enough. Sometimes you need a daring artist who will break the shackles, go beyond, and bring to screen (and life) what we think today is impossible. A hundred years from now, when we become a space-faring, multi-planetary civilisation, those future generations would still find this movie breathtaking.