In the year 2060, Earth is no longer a viable option for human life due to catastrophic climate change. In an effort to find a new home, a massive spaceship called Aniara is launched to transport thousands of people to Mars. The engers are promised a new beginning, a fresh start. The protagonist of the story is a woman named MR (Emelie Garbers), who works as a Mimarobe on Aniara. Her job is to operate a machine that controls the ship's gravitational pull, keeping everything and everyone inside safe. In the beginning, MR is shown as a stoic, unemotional person, focused solely on her duty.
However, everything changes when Aniara encounters a field of space debris that damages the ship's engines, sending it irreversibly off course. The ship's captain (Arvin Kananian) tells the engers that they will have to live on Aniara for an undetermined amount of time, possibly forever. Panic and chaos soon set in amongst the engers, who begin to turn on each other in the cramped and limited living space.
As time es, it becomes clear that there is no hope of rescue or escape. The engers must accept their fate and create a new society on board Aniara, one that is fraught with tension and uncertainty. The film explores themes of hope, despair, and the fragility of human nature.
Many of the engers turn to Mima, a virtual reality system that allows them to experience memories of Earth, as a way of coping with the bleak reality of their situation. MR becomes increasingly fascinated by Mima and is drawn into its artificial world, leading to a harrowing sequence that is both beautiful and terrifying.
The film also explores the different ways that people react to extreme circumstances. Some engers form religious cults, led by a charismatic figure named the Orator (Bianca Cruzeiro). Others turn to hedonism and drug use as a way of forgetting their troubles.
Aniara is a visually stunning movie that takes place entirely in space. The production design is impressive, with detailed sets and costumes that help to create a cohesive and believable world for the characters to inhabit. The film's score is also noteworthy, providing an eerie and haunting backdrop to the events onscreen.
Overall, Aniara is a thought-provoking and haunting exploration of the human condition in extreme circumstances. It is a film that will linger in your mind long after the credits have rolled.
Aniara is a 2019 science fiction movie with a runtime of 1 hour and 46 minutes. It has received moderate reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 6.3 and a MetaScore of 61.