Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
A ship carrying settlers to a new home on Mars after Earth is rendered uninhabitable is knocked off-course, causing the passengers to consider their place in the universe.
Aniara is a genuinely singular piece of science fiction — adapted from Harry Martinson's epic 1956 poem, it eschews conventional narrative arcs in favor of an existential, almost hypnotic drift into despair. The plot is deliberately anti-thriller: no rescue, no heroism, just the slow psychological unraveling of a drifting generation ship's passengers. This structural boldness is rare and unsettling. The ending is bleak and cosmic in a way few sci-fi films dare commit to fully. Acting is competent and grounded but not especially memorable. Cinematography is functional and occasionally striking but not visually exceptional. Novelty is extremely high — there is almost nothing else like this film in tone, source material, and philosophical ambition.