Cinema Without Borders: U are the Universe — Love and loneliness

While being one of a kind, Pavlo Ostrikov’s debut feature U are the Universe, calls to mind Spike Jonze’s Her and Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy, in an oblique way. Like Her, U are the Universe is also a sci-fi romance between a space trucker and the disembodied voice of another space traveller and it is akin to the Before trilogy in being propelled by incessant conversations between the two.

The Ukraine-Belgium co-production premiered in the Discovery section at the recently concluded Toronto International Film Festival. Set in an unspecified future, the film works with loneliness and the search for love as its focal point while keeping the expected mawkishness at bay. In fact, it starts off on a rather droll note. Andriy aka Andrukha (Volodymyr Kravchuk), employed at East Europe’s largest nuclear waste disposal company, is on a four-year mission in space to dump the trash in Jupiter’s abandoned moon Callisto. Giving him company in the cargo spaceship Obriy is Robot Maxim (Leonid Popadko), in charge of taking care of Andriy’s food and other requirements, keeping him entertained with his bad jokes and helping in navigating the ship. The mood stays balmy as Andriy revels in a good life in the ship equipped with a gym, lounge and kitchen, among other facilities. Sculpting and vinyl records fill his time. 

Things take a turn as the earth explodes, leaving Andriy as the last human afloat in the universe. He makes light of it initially with the glaring irony in a supposed “loser” like him outliving the rest. And stressing the fact that he can at least enjoy the view of space, the final frontier, in peace. Gradually, reality begins to creep up, with the food set to last for 16 months and loneliness staring hard at even an essentially solitary soul like him.

However, yet another twist in the tale comes about when he receives an unexpected message from a French woman Catherine (Daria Plaktiy, Catherine’s voice by Alexia Depicher) stationed in Saturn. With it comes the realization that he is not alone, there are two humans out there in the boundless space. As they keep talking to each other through their individual isolation, despite not knowing each other’s language and relying on translation, an enigmatic bond begins to grow. Andriy decides to travel across the universe to meet his newfound significant other. It becomes his sole mission in life.

In the guise of a space fantasy, U are the Universe is all about love found in the depths of desolation, about fresh beginnings flowering at what seems like the end of the road, about the light that shines at the end of a dark tunnel. “In each of my films I look for love because it is the highest human value,” says the director in a statement. It’s this universality of emotions that makes the film resonate and sets it apart from the typical, larger-than-life sci-fi adventures. It might be set in a world that is infinite but is an intensely intimate tale. An incredible fantasy about love between a man and the voice of a woman. It is never sentimental but steadily turns affecting with the finale packing in a deeply poignant punch.

Even though it was made through the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with limited resources and manpower at hand, U are the Universe is exceptionally accomplished, technically speaking. Much of the credit for it goes to cinematographer Nikita Kuzmenko and production designer Vlad Odudenko. They don’t let the constraints get in the way, turning the austere, minimalistic approach as the film’s calling card. The limited space—that of the spaceship—becomes emblematic of the closed mind and self-centredness of Andriy. Against that is the spread of cosmic love that he has to open up to. A big strength, of course, is Ostrikov’s writing with the casual conversations playing out utterly real and relatable. And towering above all is Kravchuk as Andriy. A character who is nothing like a hero yet so utterly heroic. And an actor so skilful and riveting that he effortlessly carries the entire film on his own steam as the only human on screen, the brief encounter with Catherine notwithstanding.