Well, you can’t say they didn’t warn you.
The word aniara comes from an old Greek word meaning depairing. This is truth in advertising, people. It’s so full of despair that a MACHINE commits suicide. It’s not a popcorn movie, is what I’m saying; in fact, I’m not sure it’s really a disaster movie.
The film Aniara, like the 1960 television movie before it, tells the story of the people on a refugee spaceship headed for Mars to escape the hellscape that Earth’s become. But the ship, outfitted with every luxury to distract the passengers on their 3-week journey (a 3-hour tour?), is struck by space debris within the first few days. The damage causes the crew to jettison the nuclear reactor that powers the ship, leaving it unable to navigate as it goes farther and farther off course. A dead stick lost in space, in other words, with no hope of rescue. When word leaks out to the passengers, well…
What do you do when you have no purpose and no hope? In some respects, the movie reminds me of the Last Policeman series by Ben H. Winters. In that trilogy, the people of Earth know that they will be destroyed by an approaching asteroid. Some become hedonistic, some become suicidal, and some just keep doing their jobs, including the protagonist.
In Aniara, our viewpoint character (Mimaroben) runs the holodeck-like Mima, which harnesses people’s memories of Earth to immerse them in a virtual reality. Overuse and the accumulation of the passengers’ horrible memories lead the machine to self-destruct, however, leaving the refugees to distract themselves with drugs, imposed order, dancing, sex, religion, and other typical human reactions to societal collapse.
As I said, this is not really a disaster movie—it’s a character study. There is no spectacle when the ship is damaged, there is no action the people can take to help themselves, and there is no chance for redemption or rescue. It just doesn’t matter. And we the viewers are forced to go on this journey, too.
All of this said, the acting, especially from the lead, Emelie Jonsson, is excellent. And it’s always refreshing to see people who look real, not Hollywood perfect—these people are on a decaying cruise ship, for god’s sake. The electronic score is minimal but effective. Writer-directors Pella Kagerman and Hugo Lilja do a good job of adapting Harry Martinson’s epic poem to convey the unrelenting, grinding hopelessness of the situation.
Do not watch this movie if you are in a vulnerable emotional place. For others, if you’re in the mood for a grim thought piece, this is your movie.
Aniara 106 min Rated R
Written and directed by Pella Kagerman and Hugo Lilja
Featuring Emelie Jonsson, Bianca Cruzeiro, Arvin Kananian, and Anneli Martini