Review of Far Side of the Moon (2003) by Rose K — 24 Apr 2007

This is a poetic and genre-defying film. The story would be quite simple: Middle-aged space-geek Phillip (Robert Lepage) comes to terms with his mother's death and repairs his troubled relationship with his gay younger brother (also played by Robert Lepage).

But space gets in the way and distorts matters. The spaces between people and the space between the past and the present manifest themselves visually in Phillip's fantasy world. The metaphor of space cleverly permeates the film: from the title 'The Far Side of the Moon' to the space inside a dry-cleaner or a gold-fish bowl.

The roof of a concrete building becomes a moonscape and the last scene depicts Phillip looking like a fat cherub doing a strange but lovely space ballet to Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata'.