Darren Aronofsky
Sphere, Las Vegas
Advertisement
When Sphere Entertainment announced that Darren Aronofsky would be directing the first production made exclusively for its massive Sphere venue in Las Vegas, it was a sign that this would be more than just publicity for what amounts to the world’s largest snow globe.
Getting the Oscar-nominated director of Black Swan, The Wrestler and Requiem for a Dream to take charge of meant that the production would be about artistic vision as much as technological achievement.
The result only partially bears out that assumption, and if movie buffs are hoping for Aronofsky’s take on the abstract documentary filmmaking of movies like Koyaanisqatsi, they will have to settle for his equivalent of Captain EO.
It is, however, a fantastic showcase for the Sphere’s stunning capabilities, and a worthy addition to the array of attractions on the Las Vegas Strip.
The 50-minute Postcard from Earth runs deeper than Captain EO, a Disney theme-park short directed by Francis Ford Coppola, but it is framed by a similarly hokey science fiction premise.
The movie opens in a familiar rectangular aspect ratio, covering only part of the Sphere’s wraparound screen. Two astronauts are awakened from cryosleep after landing on a distant planet. The soothing voices of the ship’s computer, one male and one female, explain to them that they have come from a place called Earth, and they need their memories refreshed so they can understand their mission.
It is a flimsy conceit that serves as an excuse for Aronofsky to deliver what audiences are really there for – to be immersed in the 18K-resolution (a display resolution using about 18,000 pixels horizontally) images shot on every continent, from canyons to oceans, crowded streets to quiet cathedrals.
As the narrators start to explain what Earth is, that rectangular image expands to show a mountain vista encompassing the entire screen – and the experience is physically jarring, even before the haptic system in your seat kicks in. It is hard to know where to look first, and Aronofsky fills every inch of the screen with activity.
The narrators continue talking, but they are largely superfluous, and the writing by Aronofsky and his frequent collaborator Ari Handel is full of empty platitudes about the majesty of Earth and the preciousness of natural resources
Another frequent Aronofsky collaborator, cinematographer Matthew Libatique, is the real star, capturing startling, close-up images of insects and sharks, and placing the audience next to elephants and giraffes as they literally rumble through the jungle, the seats vibrating in time with their steps.
Postcard from Earth isn’t just a nature documentary, though. It shifts away from the natural world, with one of the most playful moments placing viewers onstage at an opera house, looking out into the expectant faces of the crowd.
There isn’t much humour in Postcard from Earth, but part of life on this planet involves joy and celebration, and Aronofsky captures some of that before the narrators explain to the astronauts that humanity’s “one true legacy” is that “we destroyed what we had loved”.
This mild climate change message feels somewhat ironic inside the Sphere, that embodiment of hubris and excess, but it fits with Aronofsky’s more philosophical works, including The Fountain and Noah, both co-written by Handel.
It is unlikely that most viewers will take away any call to action from watching Postcard from Earth, but that doesn’t make it less worthwhile. As a movie, it is cheesy and simplistic, but as the latest opportunity for Las Vegas to dazzle and delight visitors and part them from their money, it is a rousing success.
