I recently watched Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar with my 5th grade daughter, and she really enjoyed it despite the long run time. So, after I answered all of her questions about the science of the “4th dimension,” I asked her a few questions of my own.
Here are her responses. BE WARNED: SPOILER ALERT. Do not read further if you have not watched the film yet.
1. What was your favorite moment in the film?
My favorite moment in the film was when Cooper and the rest of the crew on the spaceship were going through the wormhole near Saturn. Saturn’s rings were so beautiful, so magnificent, and the inside of the wormhole looked so amazingly crazy, all 3D looking and it felt as if I were looking into a magical kaleidoscope.
2. Did you think the large format IMAX screen worked for the movie, not make a difference, or make it hard to watch?
The IMAX screen made the movie look 3D without 3D glasses, and totally made the experience much more memorable, and made the theater seem so small.
3. Were there any scenes that made your heart race?
The scene where the waves on Miller’s planet went down and crashed on the spaceship. I was afraid that Anne Hathaway’s character, Dr. Brand was going to die, but instead, it was Wes Bentley’s character, Doyle who died. Another scene that made my heart race was when they were landing on Dr. Miller’s planet. They landed so terribly that I thought someone was bound to die at that moment.
4. Were there any scenes that made you feel a lot of emotion?
Definitely when Cooper left Murph. Also when everyone except for Dr. Mann died (because Dr. Mann was a total jerk!), including Dr. Brand’s father, who was also called Dr. Brand. Oh– and when Murph was old and Cooper finally got to see her in person after forever; and when Cooper was watching 23 years’ worth of messages. But during none of these emotional moments did I cry; for some reason, when I read or watch something that is really sad, I don’t cry. I don’t know why. I just don’t.
5. What particular ideas or story-lines did you not understand when watching the film? Why do you think this was so?
Many. It was because of the science and the science fiction, especially towards the beginning and the end (mostly the end) that it was the most confusing.
6. On a scale of one to ten, what do you rate the film?
An eight. The movie was truly beautiful, but it was so long, and every time I thought the movie was going to end, it didn’t. Also, the science really confused me.
