The film explores themes of loneliness and the power of human connection in a complex and layered story set in a desolate desert town. The lack of clear meaning or resolution in some aspects of the film actually serves to reinforce its central theme of embracing uncertainty and moving forward in life.
Verdict: Asteroid City is about accepting your role in the communal play that is life, and acting it out even in those moments when the meaning is lost on you.
Asteroid City: a fictional American desert town, circa 1955. Junior Stargazers and Space Cadets from across the country assemble for the annual Asteroid Day celebration—but the scholarly competition is spectacularly upended by world-changing events.
What is the meaning of you can't wake up if you don't fall asleep in Asteroid City?
The mantra near the end of the film; 'You can't wake up if you don't fall asleep' underlines the point echoed by the film itself that we live in and perceive different multi-layered realities that range from pure fantasy to the harsh reality of physical existence.
The implication is that the Augie will continue his relationship with Midge, and be able to move on from his wife's death. After one last look at the city—which really is an impressive set—the Steenbeck family climbs into their car and drives away. With that, the credits role, and the movie ends.
'Asteroid City' is a film packed to the rafters with nothing of note. The narrative is overloaded with unnecessary stylizations that distract rather than engage. Moreover, the switching back and forth between the play and the show about it is jarring throughout, while the overarching structure is alienating.
What do the black and white scenes mean in Asteroid City?
These scenes, shot in black-and-white and Academy ratio, are a performance, too — they're presented as dramatizations for the television program that's broadcasting the live production of Asteroid City.
His place in the world is thrown further into doubt by the arrival of an enigmatic extra-terrestrial, leading the single father to ask searching existential questions. The inability to dismiss his doubts leads the widower to do something important: without reason he burns his hand on a griddle.
Although it's unlikely, asteroid could hit Earth in 2030
The massive space rock--the first object to score above zero on the Torino hazard scale, which ranks the danger of an extraterrestrial impact--has about 1 chance in 500 of colliding with Earth in 2030, astronomers estimate.
The kids are teenager Woodrow (Jake Ryan) and his three little sisters Pandora (Gracie Faris), Andromeda (Ella Faris), and Cassiopeia (Willan Faris). The family is in Asteroid City so Woodrow can attend a Junior Stargazer “brainiac” camp where young inventors get to show off their latest scientific breakthroughs.
In Asteroid City, the extraterrestrial is just Goldblum in an alien suit. It looks as skittish and as inquisitive as the people transfixed by it, but doesn't say a word or utter a sound before quickly leaving, making it more of an enigma.
Asteroid City doesn't have a post-credits scene or any other type of extra material or tease at the end of its credits. Instead, Asteroid City's credits roll as normal to give credit to everyone involved in the making of it, both in front and behind the camera, so it's worth staying to recognize their work.
DP Robert Yeoman ASC used KODAK 35mm color/B&W film to deliver a striking result on Wes Anderson's 'Asteroid City' (L to R) Steve Carell and Liev Schreiber in writer/director Wes Anderson's ASTEROID CITY, a Focus Features release.
Pastel colors flow freely throughout the film, drenching the entire cinematic landscape in hues of soft pinks, tranquil blues, and soothing greens. Anderson has always used color to tell his stories, but never before have the shades themselves taken such an active role.
Box office. Asteroid City grossed $28.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $25.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide gross of $54 million. In its limited opening weekend, it made $853,382 from six theaters, finishing in tenth.
Don't disrespect a Wes Anderson cinema by putting it alongside these films. Asteroid City received a rating of 6.6/10 on IMDB and an average of 75% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, so overall… not that bad. And yet, for some reason, the film ended up on Variety's Worst Movies of 2023 list.
Sex, Romance & Nudity. Full-frontal nudity of a fragmented female body (head out of frame). Through a window, a teen watches her mother have sex, which is depicted by showing the moment before activity occurs, with a close-up of the mom's bare feet on the bed next to a man standing above her. Kissing.
Asteroid City encompasses an environmental grief that manifests as a failure to accept an uncontrollable reality. Three elements in the film highlight this best: a burnt hand, lucid dreaming and fumbled lines.
The film was shot on the Arricam LT and Arricam ST with Cooke S4 and Zeiss Master Anamorphic Lenses. It's a Wes Anderson flick, which means a planimetric composition with room-to-room tracking shots and whip pans that usually provide a comedic reveal or some kind of periscope effect.
1. Armageddon (1998) After discovering that an asteroid the size of Texas will impact Earth in less than a month, NASA recruits a misfit team of deep-core drillers to save the planet.
