critique by Tomasz Raczkowski
Attending an event dedicated to young, aspiring filmmakers, genre movies are not something one usually expects, at least not primarily. The pictures that constitute the overwhelming part of this festival’s line-up are typically down-to-earth, artsy stuff that is expected to prioritize the social message and interpretative complexity above patterns of entertainment cinema.
Is it possible to tell an interesting story about gender and psychological fractures, crafted as a classical science fiction movie? Without a big budget and the prestige that support projects such as Dune or 2001 - A Space Odyssey, it is very unlikely. However, Steve Bache and Friederike Weykamp’s Supernova, a 30-minutes short presented as part of the 51st Sehsüchte Festival in Potsdam proves this very possibility.
The movie starts with a dynamic action. Somewhere – in some space – three female astronauts explore an unknown foggy yellow area. One of them makes a mistake, which from all we know, might be lethal or at least seriously damaging to her and her colleagues. Soon it is revealed that it was just a training exercise, meaning that no harm is done. Or so it seems. As we learn that the three women are in advanced stages of a Mars mission preparation, the misjudgment made in the opening sequence by our protagonist Nova casts a long shadow onto the whole program and the relationships between its participants.
After opening the narrative with a fair action sequence, Bache (the director) and Weykamp (the screenwriter) slow down to focus on emotional and psychological tensions it exposed. Nova, Ivy and Lucia, the astronauts set to pursue a pioneer space mission are simultaneously trying to shape a team and edge the others in a chase for mission leadership. To make it more complicated, in a claustrophobic, sterile and desolated space center, affection and desire are floating around just as much as reluctance and competitiveness. Stuck in a complicated emotional triangle, pushing themselves to succeed in a stereotypically male environment, the characters’ quivers intertwine with subtly suggested, broader social discourses of surpassing gender roles and balancing ambition with self-conscious evaluation of one’s capabilities.
Although Supernova is a student-graduate project, rather underfinanced than drowning in money, it is safe to say that it looks better than some big-studio sci-fi pictures. With close frames, logically tight spaces and regular close-ups on characters’ faces, Bache overcomes the shortage of high-profile scenery. In turn, the astronaut station is creatively animated with (usually warm) color filters that add the uniqueness to Supernova by breaking traditional pale-cold palette of space travel fiction. The degree to which filmmakers can use narrow resources for suggestive effect and turn limitations into advantages is a measure of cinematic talent. The creators of this film pass this test with distinction.
The title brings a clever, ambiguous play of meanings. Derived from the protagonist’s name “supernova” suggest her rising to becoming a true heroine (Nova earing prefix popcultural ‘super’), but with its literal meaning, it also refers to the burning out of the power/energy a star possesses, a cataclysm. This intriguing space for interpretations comes together with sharp narrative and visual cleverness to produce a great movie. It touches some important matters, but most of all it is just fun to watch. Fingers crossed for the future, hopefully cosmic achievements of the team.
****
