Europa ReportThe story of space exploration is a story of sacrifices made in the pursuit of knowledge that fundamentally changes our perception of the universe. It has been documented and recorded, archived for generations to follow, to learn from the efforts made by their predecessors, and to stand upon their shoulders to reach further into the heavens above. Europa Report is presented like a "found footage" film, an archival account of the ill-fated mission into deep space, to explore and determine whether we are alone in the universe, by exploring the icy, distant moon of Jupiter: Europa.
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Europa Report begins cryptically as the video feed to Earth cuts out at some point along the lengthy journey out into deep space, roughly five or six months in; but at some point, the footage of mission must have made its way back to Earth, as it is being recalled and discussed by the mission lead, Dr. Unger (Embeth Davidtz), remembering the mission with a tear in her eye. Dr. Unger did not accompany the six men and women into space, but speaks of a moment when she located Jupiter in the night's sky, a while after the feed ended, hoping for the success of their mission. Europa Report feels much like a documentary, in the way the "footage" is assembled and intercut with commentary by members of the team prior to departure, stock footage of Neil deGrasse Tyson discussing the potential for life beneath the icy crust of Europa, and even cleverly subtle computer effects to create the illusion of the actual spacecraft, Europa One, being launched into space. While manned space flights are rare, and trips to extraterrestrial bodies in space even more so, certain impressions about the archived footage of astronauts is captured in the direction of Europa Report. Collective memories of the danger of space travel give this direction an undercurrent of tension and danger by virtue of being trapped in a small metal craft, hurtling through the vacuum at thousands of miles an hour. This level of verisimilitude makes the film fraught with tension, not to mention the stresses and tragedies which follow. Quite unlike the "Discovery One" of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, the Europa One is confined and the inevitable sense of cabin fever is present, but is a mere shadow of the larger threat waiting to greet them at their destination.
One wonders watching Europa Report how the "recently declassified" account of the crew of Europa One was edited together in the sequence that it was. Dr. Eggers recalls that when communication was restored, the images "flooded their servers", so perhaps the account was mere happenstance in the context of the story. But from a narrative perspective, the fracturing of the events--which come to us largely out of sequence--allows for Europa Report to play with our expectations as to how and why events transpired on the ship the way they did. The big mystery, which occurs on Europa One prior to their landing, is what happened to the engineer, James (Sharlto Copley), who is talked about in the past tense from the very start, establishing dramatic irony, and leaving us guessing his fate based on our preconceived notions as to what events typically occur in a "sci-fi/horror" film. The same tropes of the genre lead us to reach conclusions about the lead engineer, Andrei (Michael Nyqvist), since our first introduction to him after some time in space shows a man unkempt, his hand wounded, and the first to witness what he claims is a presence outside the ship once they do land. As ostensibly "archived footage", the means to organize the sequence of events in the plot is facilitated by a clock, counting the months, days, etc. which the crew has been on their mission. Another benefit of this fractured narrative is that it affords us the ability to see the jovial--even lighthearted--early days aboard Europa One, contrasted with the grim and raw feelings and mysteries yet to be revealed as they set down upon the frozen moon. Europa Report is fully invested in the kind of terror which comes with space exploration. Although primarily in the form of the absolute vulnerability and loneliness which comes with the station, there is the added horror of an alien presence. In keeping with other movies, notably Ridley Scott's Alien, this turns an already hostile environment unquestionably deadly, as the inscrutable force which lurks beneath the ice emits a bioluminescence that often heralds a tense and lethal outcome. And this predator largely remains obscured from sight, prompting our own imaginations to fill in the blanks as to what monsters lurk in the stars above, and leaving the legacy of Europa One both revealing and horrifying, to look up into the night sky no more with wonder but with terror.
Recommended for: Fans of the kind of lonely and cold science fiction stories of the emptiness and dangers of the vacuum of space. It is a story of heroism and sacrifice for the greater purpose of understanding the universe, and recalls those sacrifices made by the heroes who braved the unknown reaches beyond the Earth before.
One wonders watching Europa Report how the "recently declassified" account of the crew of Europa One was edited together in the sequence that it was. Dr. Eggers recalls that when communication was restored, the images "flooded their servers", so perhaps the account was mere happenstance in the context of the story. But from a narrative perspective, the fracturing of the events--which come to us largely out of sequence--allows for Europa Report to play with our expectations as to how and why events transpired on the ship the way they did. The big mystery, which occurs on Europa One prior to their landing, is what happened to the engineer, James (Sharlto Copley), who is talked about in the past tense from the very start, establishing dramatic irony, and leaving us guessing his fate based on our preconceived notions as to what events typically occur in a "sci-fi/horror" film. The same tropes of the genre lead us to reach conclusions about the lead engineer, Andrei (Michael Nyqvist), since our first introduction to him after some time in space shows a man unkempt, his hand wounded, and the first to witness what he claims is a presence outside the ship once they do land. As ostensibly "archived footage", the means to organize the sequence of events in the plot is facilitated by a clock, counting the months, days, etc. which the crew has been on their mission. Another benefit of this fractured narrative is that it affords us the ability to see the jovial--even lighthearted--early days aboard Europa One, contrasted with the grim and raw feelings and mysteries yet to be revealed as they set down upon the frozen moon. Europa Report is fully invested in the kind of terror which comes with space exploration. Although primarily in the form of the absolute vulnerability and loneliness which comes with the station, there is the added horror of an alien presence. In keeping with other movies, notably Ridley Scott's Alien, this turns an already hostile environment unquestionably deadly, as the inscrutable force which lurks beneath the ice emits a bioluminescence that often heralds a tense and lethal outcome. And this predator largely remains obscured from sight, prompting our own imaginations to fill in the blanks as to what monsters lurk in the stars above, and leaving the legacy of Europa One both revealing and horrifying, to look up into the night sky no more with wonder but with terror.
Recommended for: Fans of the kind of lonely and cold science fiction stories of the emptiness and dangers of the vacuum of space. It is a story of heroism and sacrifice for the greater purpose of understanding the universe, and recalls those sacrifices made by the heroes who braved the unknown reaches beyond the Earth before.