The inspiration for Johan Renck’s new film Spaceman is more down-to-earth than one might expect.
Although the sci-fi flick revolves around a Czech astronaut venturing into mysterious purple space dust, Renck says what drew him to the script was the main character’s relation to his own life and to the broader experiences of men with feet planted firmly on Earth.
“This is 100 per cent a film about myself — a previous version of myself,” Renck told CBC News.
Spaceman, based on Jaroslav Kalfař’s 2017 novel Spaceman of Bohemia, follows astronaut Jakub Procházka as he realizes his marriage is falling apart at the worst possible time: when he’s six months into a year-long solo mission in space.
Portrayed by an uncharacteristically sombre Adam Sandler, Jakub begins to recognize how his career ambitions and selfish pursuits have damaged his relationship with his pregnant wife, Lenka, played by Carey Mulligan. His only comfort is a large spider-like alien named Hanus (voiced by Paul Dano) who helps him come to terms with his grief but may or may not actually exist outside of his imagination.
Renck, now happily married with a family, says he came to similar realizations that he used to prioritize his own wants and needs above those close to him — and left behind a “string of broken marriages” and relationships as a result. Spaceman was a way to keep others from making similar mistakes.
Johan Renck’s latest film, which hit Netflix Friday, stars Adam Sandler in the role of Jakub, an astronaut faced with a crumbling marriage during a year-long solo mission into space. Renck discusses the film’s thematic connections to his own life, and the message he hopes to send to men on Earth.
“What a terrible human being and what a miserable life I had when I was that person,” Renck said. “It’s time to talk about this. Because I think everybody is dealing with aspects of miscommunication based on their own wants and needs and how you prioritize those.”
The Swedish director both created the highly lauded 2019 HBO miniseries Chernobyl and directed David Bowie in his final two music videos. Spaceman‘s study on loneliness and regret is Renck reaching out to men in particular.
“Traditionally, you know, [we have lived] a thousand years of patriarchy in which the choices of the man are guiding whatever everybody else has to relate to,” he said. “So, it’s a bit of an atonement here for all us men and all the vanities that we’ve been kind of pursuing in terms of success or whatever it may be.”
Adam Sandler takes on sombre lead role
Adam Sandler may seem like a peculiar choice to play such a serious role — and the actor sounds over the moon to have pulled it off.
“Man, oh man. Never, never thought I’d be in a movie like this,” Sandler said in an interview with CBC News. “It looks so cool, sounds so cool.”
Known for starring in slapstick comedies, including classics Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison, as well as acclaimed dramas Punch-Drunk Love and Uncut Gems, Sandler says the script caught his interest immediately for the romance, heartbreak and “looking back at things and realizing I’m not handling them right.”
Renck says Sandler was exactly the man he was looking for.
“I was super excited to work with an actor of his talents and skills, and actually I’m drawn to comedians playing serious roles, because I do believe in the sort of theory of when you deprive them of the comedy, they kind of become more naked than anybody else would be,” he said.
Sandler portrays the despondent astronaut, languishing in zero gravity on a mission to collect the purple space dust while communicating sporadically with humans on Earth through technician Peter, played by Kunal Nayyar of The Big Bang Theory. He says his character’s loneliness was underscored by the COVID-19 pandemic, during which much of the Netflix movie was filmed, adding another dimension to Jakub’s feelings of detachment.
“It was during a time that you weren’t free to have people come to your home and just hang out, or you had to be careful who was coming around. So yeah, I spent a lot of time alone and did connect to that,” Sandler said.
Dano, whose character offers sparse comic relief, says he’s had recurring nightmares about spiders but cherished the role of the wise intergalactic arachnid from a lost civilization, despite its unsettling physical appearance.
“It was a doula-like spirit guide … and I thought that that was really beautiful,” he said.
