Little, Big, and Far

Seventy-year-old astronomer and grandfather Karl, now in the twilight of his career, leaves a conference in Greece for a small island, hoping to reconnect with the starry night sky.

An existential crisis is etched on Karl’s solemn face. Disoriented by environmental change, political turmoil, and the emotional distance from his relocated physicist wife, a surprising life force nonetheless emerges from his melancholic pursuit of science and the stars. His exchanges with colleague and museologist Sarah lend philosophical depth. Blending fiction and non-fiction, director Jem Cohen captures the contemporary zeitgeist with quiet profundity. This poetic meditation on humanity’s (in)significance recalibrates the senses on a near-spiritual level, gently reminding us of the primal wonder of looking up at the sky – and inviting us to do so once again.

– Thomas Streekstra