Another Earth (M). Director: Mike Cahill. Starring: Brit Marling, William Mapother. 92 minutes
Melancholia (M). Director: Lars von Trier. Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland. 136 minutes
When I was 14 I decided not to kill myself. It's a decision I've stayed true to for reasons that are both profound and mundane: my love for the beauty to be found in moments; my love for people gererally, and in particular for my family and friends. Yes, I am still sometimes prone to bottomless and baseless bouts of depression, but I've never let that ragged dark hole engulf me completely.
Two recent films, veteran auteur Lars von Trier's Melancholia (released this month on Blu-ray and DVD) and debutante director Mike Cahill's Another Earth (also available), tap into this hidden, unbidden part of me. Each film merges science fiction with elegant arthouse sensibilities and deeply humane themes. Each focuses on damaged human beings whose existence is magnified by the proximity to earth of new planetary bodies.
In Another Earth the planet in question is, as the title suggests, a replica of our own, as visible to the naked eye as a harvest moon. This is a most robust metaphor for self-examination: as scientists and sky-watchers gaze with wonder and awe at this eerily familiar entity, they are literally gazing upon themselves. That this other earth remains distant and mysterious merely suggests that human nature itself is inscrutable.
For much of the film, sci-fi remains in the background — its characters have other, more immediate concerns. On the night Earth 2 was discovered, ambitious student Rhoda (Marling) killed the wife and son of composer John (Mapother) in a car wreck. After her release from prison years later, she visits his house where he is living as a recluse, to apologise. At the last moment, she backs down and instead offers her services as a cleaner.
John has never seen her face, so has no cause to question her cover story. He has allowed the house to lapse into squalor; as Rhoda cleans, it becomes obvious that her service is an act of penance. As time passes though, friendship and even tenderness begin to bloom between these two lost souls. Surely it is doomed: John will inevitably learn the true identity and motivation behind this beautiful but enigmatic cleaning woman.
Sweetly portrayed (John and Rhoda playing Wii is adorable; John wooing her by playing a saw is unforgettable), their relationship