[Lee Jong-gil's Film Reading] The Lonely 'Inner Human' Facing the End of the Earth

Director and Lead George Clooney's 'Midnight Sky' Highlights the Silent and Harsh Arctic and Space Environments
Majestic Scenes Depict Uncertainty and Anxiety... Simplified Plot Makes Emotional Changes Seem Unnatural
Protagonist Obsessed with Solitude and Achievements Expresses Inner Desire to Connect Across Impossible Time
Reflects the Loneliness Faced by Individuals in the COVID-19 Era

The Netflix film Midnight Sky highlights people facing the end of the Earth from an Arctic observatory and a spaceship near Jupiter. The hellscapes unfolding in various places are not enumerated. Instead, it focuses on the two most desolate and harsh environments humanity can reach and asks what can be done in the end.

Augustine (George Clooney) is an elderly scholar wandering around a remote observatory. As Earth's destruction approaches and everyone evacuates, he is left alone in the Arctic by choice. On the spaceship Aether returning from Jupiter is radio engineer Sully (Felicity Jones). They have discovered a new habitat for survival but are frustrated by the loss of contact with Earth's control center. Their companions suffer from depression and anger.

Director George Clooney ties the two stories together with a lyrical and melancholic tone. He depicts the uncertainty and anxiety felt by Augustine and Sully through majestic scenes. This is a metaphorical expression already used in many science fiction (SF) films such as Gravity (2013), Interstellar (2014), and The Martian (2015).

Midnight Sky does not achieve the same effect as those other films. To avoid a scattered narrative, the two stories were simplified. Even important situations are portrayed ambiguously, making the emotional transitions feel unnatural. A representative example is the scene where Augustine discovers the mysterious young girl Iris (Kyllian Springall) and tries to contact the outside world.

Augustine finds Iris in the kitchen and involuntarily shouts, "No!" Then he immediately turns on the radio transmitter and sends a distress signal: "Barbo Observatory. Do you copy? There is a remaining child. Name unknown. Age 7 to 8. Is there really no one else?"

In Lily Brooks-Dalton's original novel Good Morning, Midnight, Augustine silently watches over Iris for a while. He only thinks about what will happen to her if he dies. A few days later, when he encounters a polar bear, he begins to consider how to solve this problem. He moves beyond his own issues and starts worrying about Iris's life.

"Augustine felt a strange kinship from the bear. He envied the bear's massive body, its simple desires, and clear goals. But within all that scenery, a streak of loneliness slowly surged. It was a loneliness mixed with longing and despair. Augustine felt a heart-wrenching sadness as he looked at the bear?an animal left alone on the ridge, moving mechanically just to survive. Some emotion stirred inside Augustine. It was frustration. Not only with the bear but also with himself."

This desire that arises is entirely for Iris. Augustine fears that the emptiness he voluntarily embraced will be passed on to the young girl. He hopes she will interact, love, and form a community. No one will come to see or rescue them. Augustine does not give up. Fueled by new desires and unfamiliar responsibilities, he begins searching for the radio.

In Midnight Sky, Augustine's actions are immediate. Sometimes past pain appears as motivation, but it falls short of grasping the abyss of loneliness, which is the original theme. Even Iris is portrayed more as a connector between past and present, leaving little room for philosophical exploration.

Iris should have been highlighted as a Polaris-like figure guiding lost people like Augustine. The original work devotes considerable effort to this aspect. A representative passage is when Iris sees a polar hare hopping on its hind legs like a pogo stick and says, "So maybe they can see farther."

"Augustine, who had never tried to learn anything about the natural environment where he had lived for the past few years, felt a slight guilt and regret. Not intentionally, of course. This child knew about wolves, musk oxen, and rabbits, but Augustine only knew about distant stars. Even though he had moved from place to place all his life, he had never tried to learn about the culture, nature, or geography of the places he lived?in other words, the world right in front of him. He had always regarded them as passing, insignificant things. His gaze was always directed far away."

This is the moment when Augustine's inner desire for relationships bursts forth, despite his insistence on solitude and pursuit of achievements. It is fundamental. It contains not only the longing to connect with loved ones but also the desire to connect with strangers and, furthermore, to understand oneself. Augustine wants to communicate even if it means defying impossible time and distance. Only when emptiness reaches the brink does he realize this.

This could be our current state. Although Earth is not facing an apocalyptic situation, the loneliness experienced by individuals is not much different. Communication has become more convenient with the spread of the internet and social networking services (SNS). However, face-to-face opportunities have decreased accordingly. The COVID-19 pandemic has even solidified this tendency. What are ways to soothe the numbing loneliness? Perhaps the answer lies in the poem Good Morning, Midnight by American lyric poet Emily Dickinson (1830?1886).

"Good night, midnight! / I'm going home now? / Daylight has tired me? / How could I? / I wanted to stay longer / Because the sunlight was so good? / But morning does not want me? / So, good day, daylight!"

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.