Europa Report (2013)

[J Riff]

Off to a moon of Jupiter, Europa, to look for life under the ice.
Some very nice Astronauts, of course they lose communications halfway there - further than any human being has ever travelled.
I knew nothing about this movie till I put it on, not even that they were going to get picked off one by one like in Alien or countless other flicks, but tisn't quite like that.
We never figure out what is actually going on - there under the ice on Europa, until the very end. So, the spoilage is: (Stop reading now if you are planning on watching it) - it looks to me, the creature that swims up to the camera at the very end... kinda like Cthulhu or a relative. A complex life form. Our astronauts all expire to learn this, and are great heroes as a result. The end.
Strangely, I have no opinion about this movie. It just is. A SciFi movie that wasn't mindless action and inappropriate science.

 

[Rodders]

Sounds interesting enough.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Hadn't even heard of it - but does look interesting:

 

[Anthony G Williams]

An extract from my SFF blog: Science Fiction & Fantasy

I had heard good things about Europa Report, but found it difficult to get hold of a copy. Eventually I bought a DVD which turned out to be from a German company. Clicking on the "Spracht" link on the opening page gives a choice of German or English, and also whether or not you want subtitles. At first I assumed that the film had been made in German and that English speakers had a choice of viewing subtitles or hearing a version dubbed into English, but after experimentation it turned out that the actors were actually speaking English and the optional subtitles were in German!

I'll quote part of the plot summary on the iTunes preview page as it gives a fair description:

"A unique blend of documentary, alternative history and science fiction thriller, EUROPA REPORT follows a contemporary mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa to investigate the possible existence of alien life within our solar system. When unmanned probes suggest that a hidden ocean could exist underneath Europa’s icy surface and may contain single-celled life, Europa Ventures, a privately funded space exploration company, sends six of the best astronauts from around the world to confirm the data and explore the revolutionary discoveries that may lie in the Europan ocean."

The structure of the film is unusual, interspersing interviews with staff back on Earth, face-to-camera recordings by the pilot looking back on what had happened, and both flashback and live scenes aboard the spacecraft. Some concentration is therefore needed to follow the story, and the structure is cleverly used to mislead viewers as to what happened, until the finale. The scenes on board the spacecraft are deliberately variable in quality, and the interactions of the crew seem far more genuine than the usual carefully polished cinematic dialogue. The pace is slow and deliberate throughout, the appeal of the film being in its realistic feel and in the gradual build-up of tension as the crew struggle with a sequence of problems.

Most of the cast were new to me, the exceptions being Michael Nyqvist and Sharlto Copley. Two key cast members were the pilot (played by Anamaria Marinca) and the team leader back on Earth, played by the American actress Embeth Davidtz - who I was amused to note spoke the kind of flawless, cut-glass, highly-educated, upper-class English which no native Brits speak any more!

This won't be enjoyed by those expecting the feel-good escapism of films like Gravity and The Martian, but Europa Report is a much better SF film than either, and is well worth watching – if you can find it.

 

[Rodders]

I thought this was a great movie with an outstanding ending. Certainly one of the best Sci fi films I've seen in the last few years.

 

[clovis-man]

Interesting film with lots of tension and suspense up until the final reveal.

This past week I got a chance to see and listen to Adam Steltzner, one of the chief engineers at JPL, very much a prime mover in NASA's latest Mars Rover accomplishment. In answer to some questions, he pretty much "guaranteed" that there would be a landing on Europa.

 

[svalbard]

I saw this a few months back but fell asleep before the ending.

 

[AstroZon]

I did a head to head with Europa Report, Interstellar, and Gravity. The best of the 3, IMO, Europa Report.

 

[J-Sun]

I did a head to head with Europa Report, Interstellar, and Gravity. The best of the 3, IMO, Europa Report.

Agreed and I think that's the order I'd put all three in.

I watched this for the second time awhile back but forgot to post about it. It does ask a lot of the viewer in the beginning, especially if they're not a fan of the "found footage" approach but it quickly gets going and completely held up even on a re-watch. One of my favorite movies. It's the proverbial "good science fiction film." Real SF, nice effects but a real story, and a complex but powerful point. It's just really superb and a crying shame that it's not a big famous blockbuster like so many lesser movies. Cost about a nickel (relatively) to make, too, but seems very polished, professional, and well-done.

Spoiler

One thing I was struck by, though, is that I'd hate to have been the doctor. While it was just an accident, the first guy died essentially saving the engineer. The scientist died making one of the greatest discoveries in the history of man. The commander died saving the rest of the crew. The engineer died making it possible to communicate it all. The pilot died magnifying the scientist's discovery and getting the message out. It's all heroic and self-sacrificing and accomplishes great deeds. But the doctor just walked out the airlock and fell through the ice, basically. Anyway, I loved that the first guy said something about thinking he'd been willing to die for the mission but, on doing so, the implication was that he really wasn't so sure. Whereas, you know the scientist didn't want to, of course, but she would have been perfectly willing to make the trade she ended up making - she knew it was dangerous but just couldn't resist. Anyway, really exciting, fascinating flick in a "smart" way. Love it.

 

[Vertigo]

I was impressed with Europa Report and didn't have a problem with the format once I'd figured that that it was important to take note of the timestamps on each report clip to get the chronology sorted out. But overall a good intelligent piece of SF drama.