Ad Astra

Ad Astra
I saw the movie, "Ad Astra", one of Brad Pitt's latest works.
It's a 2019 science fiction movie, derected by James Gray and starring Brad pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler, and Donald Sutherland.
Box-office was $132.8 million, a big hit.

It's a space adventure but totally deferent from
movies like "Star wars".
This is more literary.

Watching this film, the story and Brad's private
life overlapped in my mind.
This title "Ad Astra" is latin, meaning "To the stars".
And Major Roy McBride ( Brad Pitt) is astronaut.
Astronauts have to be brilliant both mind and body,
they are the elite.
And often be checked if they are normal now.
Especially, seems like mental normality is regarded as important.
During checking his mentality, Roy talks the depths of his consciousness.
I felt it looked like Brad, his own confession.
He was solitary temporarily after his divorce because his kids were not around him.

One of the themes of this story is "Solitary".
Brad experienced it and overcame.
I felt I witnessed his own mental life and followed the track during watching the movie.
Honest and beatiful mind.
Wow.

He made marvelous performance in this movie.
I felt we can touch his naked mind in this story.

Roy's father, Clifford McBride was a famous astronaut and he left for space and communication
has been cut off sixteen years ago.

And Roy is told by U.S. Space Command that McBride may still be alive and is ordered to go there---near Neptune to look for McBride and try to make communication with him.

So he starts to travel to Neptune via the moon and
Marz.
His father was a leader of "Lima Project" which searches for intelligent lives on other planets.
And diappeared.

On the other hand, Roy's father placed his work above everything since Roy was small.
He was sad and lonely because of his father.

To Roy, this mission is meaningful.
He left for Nuptune for his mission and his private
reason.
He wants to see his father to understand.

This story is science fiction but human drama, a father and a son and his wife.
And Roy's mental growth.
He travels 43 milion kilometer and comes back to his
home, the earth.
Discovering the truth of "Lima Project" and his father.
And discovers wonderfulness of the earth and himself---his true mind and love.

I think brad Pitt expressed a new character.
It seems like he grows everytime he acts someone
showing his new characters.
Seeing superior actors, including him, I think everyone is a "The Minds of Billy Milligan", in the end.
I mean every one has multiple personality.

How wonderful occupation actors are!
(As well as writers, artists and so on.)
They explore their own mind, express each character and grow.
Through acting, they are growing forever.