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High Life

2017TV ShowEnded1 SeasonEnglish

Genevieve, a very sensible, creative and overachieving 17-year-old students in a respectable, middle class family, seems to be having the perfect ride, until her sanity spectacularly unravels in her first manic episode of Bipolar Disorder.

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Insights

IMDb6.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes66%
Metacritic70/100
Google Users63%
Director: Claire DenisGenres: Sci-Fi, Drama, Horror

Plot Summary

In the vastness of deep space, a group of criminals embark on a mission to a black hole, serving as guinea pigs for a controversial experiment. Monte, a single father, raises his daughter Willow in isolation on the spacecraft, using her as a means to explore human reproduction and survival. As the crew grapples with their grim fate and dwindling resources, primal instincts and psychological tensions rise to the surface.

Critical Reception

Claire Denis's 'High Life' received a polarizing reception, lauded by some for its audacious and thought-provoking exploration of existential themes and visceral horror, while others found its narrative opaque and its bleakness overwhelming. The film garnered praise for its distinctive visual style and strong performances, particularly from Robert Pattinson and Juliette Binoche, but its challenging and unconventional approach meant it was not universally embraced.

What Reviewers Say

  • Visually striking and thematically ambitious, though often opaque.
  • A challenging and unsettling journey into the darkest aspects of humanity and space.
  • Features strong performances and a unique, albeit bleak, vision.

Google audience: Google users seem divided on 'High Life,' with many appreciating its artistic and unconventional approach to science fiction and its exploration of dark themes. However, a significant portion finds the film's pacing slow, its narrative confusing, and its overall tone too bleak and disturbing.

Awards & Accolades

Nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

Fun Fact

The film's conception dates back over a decade, with Claire Denis initially envisioning it as a more explicit exploration of sexual reproduction in space before evolving into its final, more abstract form.

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