Little, Big, and Far

121 minutes, dir. Jem Cohen, in German and English with English subtitles

Austrian astronomer Karl is at a crossroads in his life and work. He finds his physicist wife growing distant and his job being reshaped by environmental crises as thoughts about science, fascism, and his grandson’s future spin above his head. After attending a conference in Greece, Karl decides not to return home and heads for a small island in hopes of finding a dark enough sky to reconnect with the stars. Abandoned at a remote mountain trail, he ascends and waits for darkness to fall. 

• “Magical. Captures all the glories of the universe.”— Dustin Chang, Screen Anarchy
• “Moments of sheer beauty… By broadening his imagery to include those obtained from actual outer space, and placing it within the tapestry of his feature, Cohen suggests that modern cinema, unshackled from genre, is more powerful than we may give it credit for.”— Conor Williams, Reverse Shot