Jupiter's Moon 2017

Jupiter's Moon | Jupiter Holdja

Jupiter's Moon-Jupiter Holdja

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A young immigrant becomes a slave to his power to fly in a world where miracles are trafficked for small change...

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About the Jupiter's Moon 💬

''Jupiter has 67 known moons. The four largest were discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei. One moon is presumed to have a saltwater ocean under its icy surface. This could be a cradle of new life forms. That moon has been named Europa.''

A Syrian 19-year-old refugee called Aryan Dashni (Zsombor Jéger) is shot while illegally trying to cross the Hungarian border to escape his war-torn home. Terrified and in shock, wounded Aryan can now mysteriously levitate at will. Thrown into a refugee camp, he is smuggled out by cynical Dr. Gabor Stern (Merab Ninidze), intent on exploiting his extraordinary secret. Pursued by a racist and enraged camp director László (György Cserhalmi), the fugitives remain on the move in search of safety and money. Inspired by Aryan's amazing powers, Stern takes a leap of faith in a world where miracles are trafficked for small change...

• AN INTERVIEW WITH KORNÉL MUNDRUCZÓ

WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TITLE?

One of the planet Jupiter's moons, discovered by Galileo, is called Europa. It was important for me to regard this film as a European story, one that is set in Europe undergoing crisis, including Hungary. At the same time, I was looking to convey a sense of contemporary science fiction. I have been a fan of the genre since my childhood and that might also be apparent in my earlier works, like White God or Tender Son. We were also playing around with the idea of being alien, the question of who is the real stranger? It is really just an issue of perspective. Jupiter is distant enough to warrant raising new questions about faith, about miracles and about being different.

IS THE FILM FUTURISTIC OR DOES IT TAKE PLACE IN THE PRESENT?

The answer to that question is, unfortunately, that it is no longer about the future. We did not want to make a refugee film but to use the present crisis as a context for rethinking miracles. It was originally set in the future, but while we were financing the film, everything became real. We argued for a long time about whether or not the film's refugee topic had become too current, and even I tend to shy away from the ideological narratives of the day. I believe more strongly in the idea of classic art, which acts like water on concrete - wearing it down and crumbling it away. For me, factual and political art always remains a bit uninteresting, so when we re-worked the script, we tried to distance ourselves again in terms of the story as well the language of the film.

IS THE ORIGIN OF THE PROJECT THE NOTION OF HAVING THE ABILITY TO FLY?

One of my favorite books, when I was a child, was Alexander Belyaev's novel entitled Ariel, about a little boy who has the ability to fly. Imagine a being with superhuman powers, and the awesome contrast and tension they create around them. As time passed, I started to confront more and more with the issue of faith. I have somehow always thought that there is a greater, comprehensive universal faith that reaches beyond the relative faith dictated by a given culture and historical age, one that can have an impact on all people, especially in a day and age where we seem to be settling the score with traditional religion, or God. Instead, we are defined by money and success, by the ever-present god of populism and instant gratification. And, of course, putting a flying human in the main focus always raises questions about the possibility of what you believe in and where you place yourself in comparison to the characters, each of whom relate to the issue in different ways, and also whether you as a viewer actually believe what you're seeing. An encounter with a miracle requires an active presence on the part of the viewer and that is something that I always strive to achieve. Sure, it is a refugee film, but it is also searching for God in the sense that one has to know there are moments when we encounter things that are absolute, or mysterious. Aryan's character is actually a materialized manifestation of that - a Christian figure in the body of a refugee, who could indeed be construed as an angel. Miracles never come from where we expect them to, and perhaps we never use them for what they should be used for.

TELL US ABOUT DR. STERN AND HIS EVENTUAL EVOLUTION.

I have wanted to illustrate the relationship between an old man and a young boy for a long time. Kata Wéber wrote the story, and for her, it is important to note that her ancestors include many doctors. We were excited by the contemporary archetype of the medical practitioner, a doctor already losing his faith, one who doesn't want to heal anymore and is merely surviving, being devoid of any illusions. I believe there can be many moments in our lives when we are stuck and there seems to be no way out when we are actually caught in a frantic rush to grab for something. I tried to embrace the figure of Aryan for a long time, but I am increasingly transitioning to an age when one becomes Dr. Stern. Naturally, both characters carry many autobiographical elements, and the storyline also draws from a similar friendship that is very important to me. I would have liked Stern to convey the message that it is possible to change if something becomes more important and we manage to go beyond the blindness caused by unambiguous things. We imbued Stern's character with true blindness. Even when he meets the miraculous Aryan his only concern is his personal gain, and he has great difficulty in realizing that he can only benefit if he is capable of sacrifice.

HOW DO YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT THE REFUGEE SITUATION APPLY TO THE FILM?

I became associated with the refugee issue when I did a large theatre installation for Schubert's Winterreise (Winter Journey). Europe was at the beginning of the crisis. While it was under construction, we moved into a refugee camp in Bicske for one or two weeks and I was trying to work through my experiences there - and have been doing so ever since. I had the impression that feeling alien, different, was a state of being. There was a kind of strange sanctity in the people there because they had actually been placed outside of time and space. The image or allegory of deprivation is very close to the Christian liturgy that I am also familiar with and the one that I grew up with. You have neither a past nor a future - you have the present, but it is also uncertain. You do not even know if you are still yourself, whether you are the same person you were when you left or a different one who you became during the journey. One cannot observe this without solidarity. That would be inhuman.

IN WHAT WAYS IS THIS FILM A SORT OF COMPANION PIECE TO WHITE GOD?

In the case of White God, I began working with a multi-layered structure that I think appears even more strongly in JUPITER'S MOON. I was seeking a form that could convey my sense that we are ''falling''. This form could not be a purely genre-oriented solution. In fact, it takes issue with pure genre forms. I think JUPITER'S MOON also utilizes stereotypes and elements of the genre, but only treats them as one layer, not unlike White God. I see the truth in the mixing of genres, not in a grand form, but in a parabolic analysis of convoluted realities. That path is very interesting to me now and I see that it is not in vain. Our audiences also multiplied in the context of the Proton Theatre, which thinks similarly. It is not that the questions related to our work have become less, but we have managed to garner a far livelier reaction, which was important to me.

WHAT'S NEXT?

I would love to do Vladimir Sorokin's novel entitled Ice. I have been wanting to do that for 10 years and it looks like now is the time. It would actually comprise the last installment in a trilogy dealing with faith, White God and JUPITER'S MOON being the first two elements. I feel up to the challenge of taking grand strides and I would like to continue along this path. One thing is certain: I feel an incredible hunger to continue telling new stories immediately.

Jupiter's Moon Movie Details 🎥

Directed by

Kornél Mundruczó

Writing Credits

Kornél Mundruczó

Kata Wéber

Starring

Merab Ninidze

György Cserhalmi

Zsombor Jéger

Mónika Balsai

David Yengibarian

Music by

Jed Kurzel

Cinematography by

Marcell Rév

Genres: Drama, Sci-Fi (Science Fiction), Thriller

Countries: Hungary, Germany

Jupiter's Moon Official Trailer

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