Creators of films about space usually rely on spectacle and action. But at the center of any story, even the most replete with visual effects, there are still people, their feelings, and emotions. Including love. Commemorating Valentine’s Day, the team of The Universe Space Tech have compiled a selection of five noteworthy space movies, the scripts of which are built around a romantic storyline.
Starman
What is the movie about?
An alien who made an emergency landing on Earth must return home as soon as possible; otherwise, death awaits him. In search of help, he assumes the form of Jenny’s recently deceased husband.
Why is it interesting?
Most moviegoers associate John Carpenter with horror movies like Halloween or The Thing. However, the director’s career includes films of completely different genres. And Starman is one of them. This is a classic representative of the fiction of the 1980s, which was primarily built not on devastating visual effects, but on elaborate images of the protagonists and their relationships.
And these components in Starman are represented superbly. Jeff Bridges perfectly embodied the image of an alien that gradually realizes what it means to be human, with all his strangeness and internal contradictions. For his role in Starman, the actor received a well-deserved nomination for the Academy Awards. Karen Allen also did a great job portraying a widow who has lost everything, and now she is looking for ways to make sense of the tragedy that happened in her life and move on.
But Starman is not just a fantastic melodrama. It is filled with both dramatic and touching moments, and even action. The heroes are being chased by the military, and they don’t have much time to reach their goal, which adds dynamics to the film. So, despite its ripe old age, John Carpenter’s motion picture can still be watched in one breath and is worthy of the attention of all fans of the fantasy genre.
The Fifth Element
What is the movie about?
The events are set in the XXIII century. Evil, in the form of a red-hot mass endowed with intelligence, is approaching the Earth. It can be defeated only by collecting the four elements — earth, water, air, and fire — and adding the mysterious fifth element to them.
Why is it interesting?
The Fifth Element can rightfully be called one of the most unusual sci-fi films of the 1990s. In this Luc Besson movie, the aesthetics of European cinema were woven together, multiplied by the budget of a full-scale Hollywood blockbuster. As a result, it turned out to be a bright, loud, sometimes naive, but at the same time extremely influential and funny film, which, as it was before, is very popular with the audience.
But, along with the variety of vivid colors and exciting action, The Fifth Element also provides some place for romance. Together with the main character, we get to know Leeloo, played brilliantly by Milla Jovovich, and progressively fall in love with her. How can one not love her? She is funny, charming, and internally vulnerable, but at the same time, she knows how to stand up for herself.
Therefore, to some extent, The Fifth Element can be called the perfect romantic motion picture. After all, this is a movie in which love literally saves the world. And it does it in the most spectacular way possible.
John Carter
What is the movie about?
A veteran of the American Civil War, John Carter, against his will, ends up on Mars, where he is captured by warlike four-meter-tall natives. Carter must not only save himself but also come to the aid of a local princess.
Why is it interesting?
John Carter is an adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic sci-fi novel that launched his famous Martian series. You can often hear the opinion that the movie reached the big screen too late, because, at the time of its release, its main discoveries had already been sneaked by the genre competitors, which led to weak box office receipts.
But the fact that the movie did not live up to financial expectations does not mean that it is not worth watching. This is a rare example of an old-school adventure film in modern cinema. It contains all the key attributes: exotic locations, amazing creatures, exciting action scenes, a brave hero, and, of course, a beautiful princess, meeting with whom changes his life forever.
And also, John Carter is interesting for its “vintage” charm. After all, it gives us an opportunity to see what people imagined the Red Planet to be like at a time when it seemed self-evident that there was intelligent life on it. Thus, John Carter provides quite a good way to spend two hours without getting bored.
Passengers
What is the movie about?
A spaceship with five thousand passengers on board, immersed in hibernation during the flight, is heading for the planet that will become their new home. Everything goes according to plan, but due to a system failure, two passengers suddenly wake up and realize that they still have 90 years to travel to their final destination. So, they were destined to spend the rest of their lives together in the luxurious interiors of the craft equipped with the latest technology.
Why is it interesting?
The plot of Passengers combines many classic elements that have long become an integral part of science fiction. There is interstellar travel, artificial intelligence, and the use of deep sleep for long flights. Yet under this spectacular wrapper, primordial themes are hidden. After all, Passengers is mainly a film about loneliness in modern society, true love, and the price of choice.
Perhaps this approach will not suit everyone. Someone will find fault with the technical conventions necessary for tying up the plot. Someone will criticize the answers that the authors of Passengers give to the questions posed by the motion picture. But if we abstract from this, we have quite a good drama, which unfolds in a very atypical entourage for the genre. In addition, nothing prevents viewers from imagining themselves in the situation the main character of the movie got into and giving their answers on how they would act if they found themselves in such a position.
The Space Between Us
What is the movie about?
A story of interplanetary love between a girl from Earth and a youth, Gardner Elliot, who grew up in an experimental colony on Mars. Their romance began on the Internet, and now Elliot flies to Earth to meet his beloved.
Why is it interesting?
The Space Between Us is not very often included in the lists of the best space films of all time. And there is nothing surprising about this, because first of all, it is a love melodrama that unfolds on the territory of well-known genre stereotypes.
But there is one interesting circumstance, thanks to which it is worth paying attention to this film. It raises a problem that may very well indeed be faced by our descendants. The fact is that the protagonist of the movie grew up in the conditions of Martian gravity, due to which his heart cannot adapt to the increased gravity on our planet. To put it simply, love can just kill him.
In spite of this, the main character literally puts his life on the line to meet the girl of his dreams. Hence, after watching the film, you want to believe that in the future, when humanity begins full-scale development of the Solar System, the cosmic distances will not be an obstacle to love.
