SPACEMAN

SPACEMAN is a science fiction drama on Netflix about a married Czech astronaut working for the European Union who’s sent on a solo mission to Jupiter to investigate a strange purple cloud and runs into an intelligent alien creature, but the mission is hurting his long-distance relationship with his pregnant wife, who’s been unhappy with him for some time. A well-acted piece, SPACEMAN uses its science fiction story to explore the interaction of the personal, the professional, the cosmic, and the metaphysical in a compelling way stressing love and hope, but it’s sometimes slow going, the dialogue has several “f” words, and the movie’s Christian, redemptive allusions are blurred by some cryptic, ambiguous moments that seem a bit heterodox and by a confusing resolution to the astronaut’s mission.

Adam Sandler plays a Czech astronaut named Jakub Prochazka. A strange, large purple cloud visible from Earth has appeared near Jupiter for four years. For more than six months, Jakub has been traveling on a European Union ship to the cloud’s location to take samples. He’s in contact with his wife, Lenka. However, just as he approaches the cloud, she stops answering his calls. Meanwhile, an intelligent creature looking like a giant spider suddenly appears inside his ship.

Jakub discovers the alien has the ability to elicit memories of Jakub’s past life with his wife and even memoires of his father. The creature, and the mission control folks back home, think Jakub is having intense feelings of loneliness, but Jakub denies it.

As the spaceship approaches the mysterious purple cloud, the movie reveals things that may have led to Jakub’s wife breaking contact with him and unknown facts about Jakub’s father.

Meanwhile, Jakub gives the alien creature a name. He names him Hanus (pronounced “Hanush”), after one of Jakub’s favorite Czech scientists, a planetary astronomer who died in 1992. Also, Hanus tells Jakub that he thinks the purple cloud will reveal secrets about the beginning of the universe.

Will Jakub find out why his wife stopped contact with him? What will he find inside the cloud?

SPACEMAN is well acted by Adam Sandler and Carey Mulligan as his wife, Lenka. Kunal Nayyar of TV’s THE BIG BANG THEORY is unrecognizable as Peter, the astronaut’s contact with Mission Control. Paul Dano plays the voice of the alien.

SPACEMAN uses its science fiction story to explore the interaction of the personal, the professional, the cosmic, and the metaphysical in a compelling way. However, it’s sometimes slow going and the ending has a confusing scene involving what’s really inside the mysterious cloud. Also, the movie has some strong foul language, including several “f” words. Finally, the movie’s Christian, redemptive allusions are blurred by some cryptic, ambiguous moments that seem a bit heterodox or unbiblical.

For example, the dialogue includes brief discussion about “the beginning” and “the end” becoming one. This seems to be an allusion to Jesus Christ’s statement to John in Revelation 22:13, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” However, the allusion isn’t really explained further and comes across as too impersonal.

That said, the resolution to the astronaut’s personal issues, which includes a quest for atonement and redemption, extols love, forgiveness, reconciliation, and especially hope. Happily, SPACEMAN has a pro-life subtext regarding the wife’s pregnancy and the existence of life in the universe.

Even so, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution for the strong foul language in SPACEMAN.