High Life Is Pretty Disappointing (spoilers) 

I really love High Life. I think it’s a really interesting film about consent and control. The rape scenes are back to back for a reason: to juxtapose the state sponsored abuse of the bodily autonomy of the prisoners and the unendorsed individualist abuses of their rapes. It also looks at how differently consent and the lack of it plays out in different dynamics. The crew of the ship are allowed to get off, are encouraged to in the ‘sex box’ but aren’t allowed to actually have any human intimacy or natural contact with each other. Everything is diverted and controlled. Monte refuses and chooses celibacy but has that violated in the end. The prisoners are impregnated, treated like animals and walking experiments, very much against their will. It’s a film that is all about consent and human dignity if you ask me. None of the characters are all good or bad (except the baby), Monte kills someone who killed his dog. He prized his dog’s life over a person’s and he then, when faced with the decision to help the dogs on the other ship, is confronted by the fact that he now prizes his daughter’s life over the dogs’. The situation has flipped in some ways, but Monte still places his own protective instincts first (not saying this is wrong, but just that it’s not random that ship is filled with dogs). Monte tries as hard as he can to retain his dignity, his human rights to bodily autonomy but the institution wins out in the end. If you look at how society places people in prison and then does little to prevent them from being victims of crimes (rape especially) inside of prisons, then I think there are a lot of parallels with this film. Nobody is sentenced to rape, it is illegal everywhere, but prisoners are constantly subject to this crime whilst under state care apparently as part of their debt to society and a lot of people joke about it ‘don’t drop the soap’ etc or really feel gratification that someone is likely to have their human rights violated like that, but that is not what they were sentenced to, even if it is somehow part of peoples’ concept of what justice is. (Obviously this is outside of corrective rape used in some regions, widely regarded as a gross human rights violation against the lgbt+ community). I think High Life viewed as a film about state endorsed human rights violations Vs individuals violating human rights and our attitudes towards them is a more cohesive and moving film than what you got out of it at the time of this review. Maybe watch it again, ask yourself about the themes of consent and how we feel when consent is violated by institutions Vs individuals, men Vs women, how rape is depicted in media and whether that covers the full spectrum of what it is (it doesn’t by a long shot imo) and if rape is an inherently violent act regardless of how gentle or benign it may seem (it is).

This is the kind of movie that even the writers don't know the answers to all the questions

I only watched this movie for Robert Pattinson

I actually liked the movie quite a bit but I watched it at home and felt that if I seen this in the theaters I would’ve been disappointed.

no film has ever left me so confused. so many questions.. do i even need the answers?

IMO...The movie made sense... Mia Goth's death is symbolic of her body being violated, she's basically "raped" by the smaller black hole. Her death represents exactly what is going on within her. The larger the black hole, the less dangerous it is until you reached that point which we don't know what lies beyond it. When Patterson says, "Shall we," it's not evident that they are dying but their fate is uncertain as he takes his daughter's hand into the unknown. Willow's transition into womanhood and the ending with her father seems more about the love a father has for his daughter. The ending to me was kinda open but we don't know what is at the end point of a black hole and neither do the characters. Do they die, maybe, but not at that moment most likely. I want to believe that them being in proximity of the black hole affected a lot of different timelines too. Something to think about.

I honestly loved this movie. not many sci-fi films quite like this one. It has a poetry and contemplativeness to it that touched me, especially in the end with the daughter.

Tried watching this last night and had to turn it off, got the creepiest vibes from it

I found the movie engaging but when it ended it felt more like a rough draft of potentially interesting ideas. I get a certain amount of ambiguity but very little is explained. I'd like to know at least some of the character's motivations. Did the one guy just decide to lay down and die? Why did the doctor leave the airlock? Why were all the dead folks kept in cold storage? For how long? Why were they put into space suits before being jettisoned? I understand the writer/director wanting to explore some ideas but if a bunch of time and money, etc. are being used it would be nice to have something approaching a coherent story. I'm not sorry I watched it but I do feel like some 'splainin' needs to be done.

Did anyone notice that the woman that hits the doctor with a shovel isn't explained, like how she dies?

I really felt as though i was missing something too. I could see concepts coming out, here and there... But I couldnt grasp the whole thing... And i am usually pretty good at figuring movies out... I kept thinking about it after though... So it wasn't all bad... But i think there are parts missing or something

The film doesn't know what it wants to be. The idea of the film as a whole is great but it feels underdeveloped, non cohesive and I'm not sure if it classifies as 'art house'. Give it a view.

Okay, I know that this video is like a year old, but I have to say that I actually liked the movie, but it feels like for a very specific reason. I personally felt like it was symbolic of the prison system or prison reform. As soon as society puts a label on someone, they are immediately reduced to less than human. The guy who was interviewed on the train admitted that they just wanted to get rid of them when he said it was all a lie and they were never coming back. People on earth think that they can just eliminate those who have been criminalized. Even on the ship, they treat each other terribly. There is no respect for anyone on there except for Monte and his daughter and Monte and Tchemy. That's why there is so much violence and rape; they don't respect each other's boundaries and constantly call each other "scum" and "thugs" not seeing each other as equal human beings. When society labels you has "lesser than" others, as well as yourself and others like you, will also start to believe that, and therefore, you begin to start making yourself fit into that narrative. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. :) I gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars, though, because there were some parts that felt confusing, that maybe if there was just some more backstory could've fixed.

I like arthouse movies and I really enjoyed this one. The exposition did bother me and I was kinda confused by the change in narrative structure in the second act as well, but that didn't stop it from being a very engaging experience for me. The way the movie looks and the way in which the events are presented made it very interesting for me, and even though there is a lot of exposition, I appreciated the fact that not everything in the third act was explained. I would give it a 7/10

The whole “science” of this is another thing. It was mentioned that the captain lost his sight to radiation, that’s not actually what causes space blindness. Space blindness is a real thing that can happen to astronauts and we don’t really know what causes it but we think it has something to do with the way the fluid in the eye responds to microgravity. Since they’re under constant thrust, there’s no microgravity and thus they wouldn’t likely have this issue. Also something tells me that if the ship were traveling at the reported speed, they would be flattened against the deck like pancakes.

ok i just want to know how home girl died she only got hit once with a tiny shovel and why did the doctor kill herself and how did the brother disappear into the earth, this movie could possibly be turned into a netflx series and have a long life with following each character through his crimes and punishment and dig deep into mental health aspect and dive deeper into the question what makes a criminal is it society or nurture or nature dna or is it just the luck of the draw we need develop the story also from a religious point of view since well u know any ways the move could have used a car chase or at-least a drive by, come on now lets get real here

I think the ship they find is 6 right? I liked that ship too because it really drives home the fact that we're still just sending stuff we dont mind losing into space, and really makes the 7 ship seem pointless.

I would have liked a more intelligent analysis of some of the obvious themes in the movie. There is something about the recurrence of dogs (his pet as a child, what he calls the artificial intelligence controlling life support on the ship, and the dogs found on the other spacecraft) there is some message there about what we are as humans at the end of the day. Isn't it strange how the dogs seem perfectly able to perpetuate their species (through SEX, HELLO) and be really comfortable living in that ship forever, only limited by the supply of food? Whereas the humans decrease due to disease and due to opposing wills and personalities leading to fighting. The surviving dogs look like they might have killed other dogs out of hunger, while the humans kill each other out of ANGER, and mental issues etc. Who is more fit to spread their seed into outer space? Pee and poo are transformed through recycling into water and food, the prisoners are outcasts that are also to be recycled to produce some hopefully useful result for humanity, a child is produced as a result of injecting biological fluids into the womb, but turns out to look more like the scientist who did the injection than the mother who gave birth to her. There is so much more to ponder and wonder about in this movie. I give the movie a 10/10, and I give the above "review" a 1/10.

I would never watch a movie based on the opinions of critics. They have their own agendas and recommending something that most people would enjoy... not their priority.

How would someone perceive time in a black hole? The time jumps in the narrative of this movie gave me exactly the idea of an uncertain perception of the time. I would like to perceive the unkown of High life in such a way. How would you behave in a spaceship with only convicts in perverse conditions? Sex (rapes or masturbation) scenes were really weird, but artistically unique, and justified in such a context. I don't think this was a bad movie, and Claire Denis made an amazing job in using sci-fi to sustain philosophical argumentations on the human nature. I really loved this movie.

This movie was actually awesome... in a very disturbing and creepy way. Nothing has been done quite like it.

i agree with this video so much. guy with a baby, space convicts get violent, awkward sex scenes, weird flashbacks, everybody dies, black hole, all in an agonizing slow pace.

This movie was just a whole lot of nothing. I lost interest halfway as well, just no interest in the characters at all, so many unnecessary things happened that weren't explained. Just felt like they were trying too hard to be quirky and unique. I'd give it a 3/10. If you want something like this that is waaaaay better I suggest watching Aniara

The ending made you think a lot and create your own story about how the ending ends. 😂

This movie is not disappointing this is depressing. ITS GOOD IN THE DEPRESSING CATEGORY!

Call me slow, but I didn’t understand what happened at the end. Could someone explain?

Dogs in Space? DId these canines commandeer an interstellar PetSmart? This movie is a hot mess. I gave it "2" on IMDB. I think I'll edit it to "1".

I liked the movie but it definitely was over sexualized, and I was completely confused to what happen to the rest of the characters. Maybe I missed something but I really wanted to know what happen. And I kind of wish they went into more of his daughter not knowing as much as she did. Since all she knows is space. And I hated the random ship that came in contact with them. It was a complete waste of time

i only watched this for mia goth, i regretted it.

Notice the Minecraft music in the background

It’s not a character study as much as it is psychological horror. You’re looking for the Hollywood version and this is not it. No redeeming characters, no nice wrap up, no linear movement. It does not need it. The protagonist in the movie is the viewer.

Robert Pattinson, Mia Goth, “and a few other people”. Like bruh, Andre 3000 and Ewan Mitchell are arguably better actors than both Robert and Mia. Robert Pattinson is just good looking in my opinion. He’s an ok actor, but I think his looks are the reason he’s as big as he is. Mia on the other hand is both good looking and an amazing actress so I get why she is acclaimed.

"this movie really isn't for anyone" lol I mean, for real tho. I hated it.

The cast is really excellent in this. And I was pleasantly surprised by several things. The only thing I was missing was a more visceral sense that they had no future. It felt too much like they were going through the motions in a terrestrial prison-no fight or flight instinct. No sense that they might TRY something even if it endangered the whole vessel.

It's basically a Rorschach test which critics can use as a 'fuck box' of their very own to sound intelligent as they expound upon all the deep themes and significance they see in these shallow characters going berserk raping and killing each other...because they're trapped in the cold meaningless vacuum of space, and that's like, existential, and stuff.

The first few takes, the completely naked enfant, the dogs alive alone on a space ship, the neurotics of the femalss members, the period blood, the black holes on the way, and many many more holes made me a lot less surprised by the end of this movie. SciFi is not just another genre you can just try. Stick to what you know, don't esspas.

The few story beats that I didn’t really get was why Mink attacked the Dr., why Boyse killed Nansen, or what led Tcherny to dying. Otherwise, I don’t know how to feel about this movie. Given the nature of the mission, none of the characters were compelling enough to carry the movie. I liked the idea that they were all criminals, but that didn’t really amount to anything.

Just saw this last night. I was pretty disappointed too. The only thing I felt at the end of the movie was the need to see a movie where Mia Goth doesn't get mutilated. I'd totally forgotten about the professor on the train until this very moment. The stakes just weren't there. I'm also still not sure what happened to Andre Benjamin. This just didn't do it for me :/ Which is sad, because I like Claire Denis.

I agree! I would be the target audience for a film like this. I love films like Under The Skin, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Solaris, Interstellar, and I also enjoy art house films. But this film was just awkward. The editing, acting, dialogue, plot, and ending are all underwhelming. I really tried to like this film but it’s truly subpar.

You can not understand this movie because you can not think deeply, you are bored with this movie because you are boring. Not everyone can understand everything

I just finished watching it and... what the actual fuck

Idk I sorta enjoyed the movie just the concept of it just wasnt explained enough and at the end they went to the event horizon but what happen the same thing as what happened to her mom like the cliffhanger

Well... This is an art movie. Not Marvel one. Art movies are a different breed. I bought my Blu-Ray.

I really wanted to like this movie but I came away from it just not knowing how to feel. There was some good stuff, like the idea of travelling at 99% of lightspeed, and the Mia Goth black hole scene, but over all while there were bits that were good individually, none of it came together in any cohesive way

I’m pretty sure the other ship was a 6 and not a 9. Think about the way they are traveling forward forever. They probably reached the ship sent before them

I feel like slow films with confusing ambiguous ending that just trail off are the fashion. Would it kill them to do a good ending, once in a while? I think we deserve a bit of escapism.

You look a lot like Dylan Arnold. That's all I have been thinking about during the first part of the video😅

I dislike when rape of men is played off as not a big deal and rape of women is like a death (which it is). Thanks for the review. Odd film.

I agree that it has no real focus, I enjoyed the darkness of it and the idea behind it. Im glad it wasent some over plotted action mess, but It seems it used space and black holes to tell a story that had nothing to do with space. there is no finishing of plot or ideas and no true context or explination of anything

WOAH. 5/10 is GENEROUS… (even by your own taste. You do NOT describe this as a 5 lol. You seem to hate it!)

High Life is the strangest porno I've ever seen.

The disconnect with the storytelling might be because its the directors first English language movie

The movie was so complicated I didn't understand what was going on. Why do modern movies have to be so artsy? Back in the old days I enjoyed movies like True Grit. I understood "Fill your hand you son of a bitch!" completely

Is a art film. Cleire Denis is a cult. That’s all.

Loved this French style art house film! Things to remember: 1. Just like Stanley Kubricks's "Space Odyssey" which is narrative-based and an homage to Odysseus, Denis's "High Life" is also narrative-based and an homage to Medea (Greek tragedy). 2. Denis is French and this is her first English-language film. Her style is distinctly French. 3. Heavy-hitters in literature helped with the manuscript including British author Zadie Smith. This means, be on the lookout for high brow imagery, layers, and allusions. Everything makes intricate sense… if something seems nonsensical, you’re missing something. 4. The title of an art piece always acts as the key to unlock the meaning. This film is titled “High Life,” meaning living a higher, more refining life as compared to the ex-cons’ earlier life shenanigans. 5. The details in this movie are extremely intricate, and there’s no possible way I can point out every single one. Now, onto the meaning… The people on the spaceship represent Argonauts: "Any of a band of 50 heroes who went with Jason in the ship Argo to fetch the Golden Fleece." Medea (as represented by space doctor) helped them to locate the Golden Fleece. The Golden Fleece is represented as the full success of alchemical knowledge to successfully reach alchemical change... (alchemical knowledge is what Jung based his psychology on). When the screen turns gold, it means that Monte successfully changed and transmuted his sins into change and wholeness (aka the Golden Fleece). This is proven through his successful raising of his daughter. There's a lot of imagery of Golden Fleece and semen "catching." When father and daughter go through the black hole, they are going through the Porta Alchemica: "Legend held that the next morning he was seen to disappear forever through a door, but left behind a few flakes of gold, the fruits of a successful alchemical transmutation, and a mysterious paper full of puzzling symbols and equations, putatively describing the ingredients and process required." Dionysius of Mitylene taught that the Golden Fleece was really an euphemism/representation of an alchemical text. Basically... how to transmute "criminals and scum" to pure gold. "Modern Georgian researchers have uncovered evidence that ancient Colchis illuminated some manuscripts with gold and concluded that the Argonauts' trip was thus a literal voyage to Colchis to learn the secrets of manuscript illumination." So, as Monte keeps his log going on the spaceship, he is constructing his “manuscript” which is made illuminated (tells how to transmute crap to gold), as he discovers how to do so himself. It also provides a portal to a new golden life. Many alchemical hobbyists and scholars claim that the alchemical manuscript mentioned in the original Greek tale is based on Adam (obviously this is a Judeo-Christian white washing of a Greek tragedy, but mysticism!…and is time even real…? 😉): "Jung states that a lot of material indicates that Adam was associated with primal wisdom and was also, in some alchemical material, thought to be the first alchemist. It is even thought that he brought the Philosophers' Stone out of Paradise." Therefore, the movie was about the making of Adam (Monte) and the alchemical change that took place in him, and indicates that he and his daughter (presumably representing Eve) go on to beat the odds and reach paradise together... where they will eventually leave with the "Philosopher's Stone" (alchemical knowledge/book) to bring to mankind.

I love the Minecraft music in the background

I watched your full review, and it was spot on. Like you said around 8:00, it had incredible potential. But, I don't think that it was fleshed out enough. I think it needed more rework in script and/or editing. This had the makings of A CLASSIC, but I think it falls short. And, meeh ... yeah like you said -- I think that you did, that it saddens you and saddens me too. I just wanted more from it.

Well... It was different at least, good late night watch on Netflix if you got bored of conventional scifi.

Cant believe I just whatched a whole lot of nothing 😂😂😂

they almost had some ideas that would have made it neat to watch but it ended at that point

The movie was about how depraved, selfish, and unstable bad people can be. And the ending was about Robert’s character trying to redeem himself.

Can anyone explain what it was about? From the trailers I was so excited for the movie but after seeing I found it intriguing but had no idea what happened

I agree. I was highly confused at what was happening and it was all over the place. I liked how another reviewer said it was like the movie was filmed out of order and messy the way time would possibly be in a black hole. I also loved the ending with Monte and his daughter. The middle was the hardest to follow and I also found myself asking why.. I’ll have to go back and watch it again to grasp it better

this movie was incredible yall are basic

what i got out of it, was he wanted to do her... and she wanted to find out whats that about.

Goddamn, Son, said exactly how I felt about the movie in just your first minute (up to 1:08). I wanted to love this movie. It had the makings of a classic. It had everything there, but I felt lacking at the end. ANd, that's why I am searching for a way to understand it. I watched it and like many of the movie's characteristics (setting, characters, characterization, events, plot, etc.), but instead of having rip-roaring love for it; I find myself struggling with a (maybe) appreciation of it -- that is the better way to say it. Instead of loving it, I am wanting to really like it. It had the A+ possibilities, but I think (to me, and I sadly, tragically, gut-wrenchingly ... because I love sci-fi movies like this) I have to give it a A- or B+. I could have been right up there with the best of the genre, but the ending and cohesion of it -- just didn't do it all for me. The director should have went back in post-production and reworked some things, because I am not having clarity on certain places -- which are key story points, that just weren't clear enough for me. So, that's why I am forcing myself to watch reviewers and see how other perceived it. Sorry, let me continue watching your review, but you got me hooked after 1 minute ... so, I'll see what else you had to say.

I still dont understand how willow looks like dibs when boyse was carrying her

The professor scene was what made it so fucked up

This is a good movie to watch if you have insomnia

What happen to Tchemy?????

I regret giving this video a view.

This movie was amazing. Super dark existential crises at 99.9999 the speed of light. It’s totally moody and volatile. I get how people wouldn’t like it. But the point is, if you missed it, is what happens when your only option is to die or commit incest. To retain the best part of their humanity they choose to die, or go into the complete unknown. It’s meant to throw you off kilter and make you uncomfortable. It was for people like me.

didn't have an ending or anything just felt like a suffer reel

I agree with many of your points. Which is a shame, because this movie still had some great moments and potential for so much more. It's still enjoyable and a pretty bizarre film.

I don’t know a lot about many things either but I don’t make RU-vid videos about them

Only read a few comments what were you people watching It’s like everyone involved with the movie decided this sucks let’s just end it here If you got something out of it more power 2 U just watched it found it last night before bed was really excited to watch it today WOMP WOMP 🤷‍♂️☝🏻🚮

Don’t have the subscription of Amazon prime but I loved how you reviewed this movie from a commoner’s pov , not getting or trying to get deep with it. How ever confusing it may be;dying to watch it

Un-Man directors should steer away from movies genres that require basic science knowledge and logic.

Watch it again

I really loved the movie, seemed a little flat sometimes but I enjoyed it.

What is it with anglo speaking people saying you cant pronounce names and then doing a poor job of trying to pronounce it with an expression of it apparently seeming impossible to pronounce?

This movie was just a confusing mess, the first act with Robert Pattinson and his baby, while slow did seem to be setting up a solid story, what I thought was gonna happen would be that he’s with his baby on the ship, something life threatening starts happening with the ship and now Robert Pattinson has to scramble to fix the problem and save his baby, instead what I got was a confusing, 2001-esc space movie crossed with some weird, artsy space porno, which brings me to that, this movie has very bizarre sexualized moments for seemingly no reason, in particular this 1 just known as the “Fuck Box” It’s like what was the point of all that? And the movie just doesn’t flow well between the 3 points in time at all, I mean by the time the 3rd act starts with his daughter now as a teenager I was like “Wait huh, when did we get here?” And generally speaking I’ve really liked how Robert Pattinson has evolved as an actor but I didn’t really like him here, he’s given good performances in movies like The Batman but here he sounds like he’s channeling a bit of his inner Edward, in other words he’s more stoic and bland in this movie, and lastly the movie has like no real ending, they fly towards the black hole, he’s sees his daughter age a little I guess and then it just ends, like what did they accomplish? Was there even a central conflict in the 3rd act at all? There’s like no answers at all, this movie felt like a decent setup for a sci fi movie that just divulged into a series of scenes depicting strange artistic sexual imagery, to put it plainly I just don’t get it

Yeah definitely something was left out or missing... not sure what though, I think the movie mainly conveyed "loneliness, and being in a prison, and then almost showed the point that, it's okay, ti be okay with imprisonment..... lmao IDK

Is it at least as good as a Black Mirror episode or not even?

8:16 .......did my man say Porpoise?

Sounds like they had loads of drugs thinking this one up....

What tf happened in that movie ? I didn’t understand sh*t

I agree it could’ve been such a good movie but it left me looking up the point of the movie

What's with the Minecraft music in the background

@5:58 too distracted by the minecraft music

Yep. Undercooked, overexposed. It's like Sunshine meets Ghosts of the civil dead, but with no commentary at all. At one point I was zoning out as it seemed to wanna touch solaris, 2001, Moon, etc etc but refused to be subtle. I seriously thought it was gonna go black comedy with how heavy handed the exposition and dialogue was. Total failure at achieving anything other than some solid acting.

i agree with some of what you said but the two rape scenes i feel were portrayed so differently on purpose. how horrible and familiar the one with mia goth seems because we are used to (for lack of a better term) women going through that exact thing. the doctor raping monte scene was eerily “calm” and i think that’s to show how society views the same crime differently depending on genders. i think the doctor scene should’ve been a bit more obvious of just how evil and creepy that was, the music i would’ve changed but the actress of the doctor did a good job making me want to vomit with how weird she was. the juxtaposition of both scenes speaks to how we treat all victims of rape, and how we treat them differently too. least in my opinion

I agree, this movie was all over the place and boring and of course strange. Felt like the film took the form of an abstract painting.

just watched it , idk , there’s a baby , batman’s there idk dude , this movie is a loop

I loved this movie, my favorite of the a24 catalog

I couldn’t even make it through this one

You have gotten things really wrong here: the movie is outlining the fact that space is extremely lonely and extremely boring and claustrophobic. It is a big middle finger to all the popular Space Hollywood movies. If you put yourself in the main character's shoes, and absorb everything in his story, you too would willingly go into a black hole, just to end the boredom, and somehow be the first to do something new, even though 99% he will die

the flash back and flash forwards in this movie really confused me. i was thinking maybe the baby we see in the beginning is the child of monte and his daughter, who we see later in the film? this movie sucked

think the point is nihilism. i love this movie, it is kinda hed spacey. pattison, and the cast do great job imo.

I agree with your entire review. I wanted to like this movie......but it was so horrible that I fast forwarded to the end.