Johan Renck spoke exclusively to RadioTimes.com about different interpretations to his film.
Although Adam Sandler remains best known for his comedic roles, he has also proven his dramatic chops in a string of well-reviewed films such as Punch-Drunk Love, Uncut Gems and Hustle.
For his latest acting role, he’s moved into sci-fi territory with the Netflix film Spaceman, which sees him star as fictional Czech astronaut Jakub Procházka, who is sent on a mission to the edge of the solar system shortly after the collapse of his marriage to Lenka (Carey Mulligan).
While in outer space, he has an extremely unusual encounter with a giant spider who introduces himself as Hanuš (voiced by Paul Dano) and although he is initially terrified by this creature, he eventually comes to realise his new companion has a great deal of wisdom to impart.
During several conversations, we learn more about Jakub’s marriage and his past as he undergoes a period of self-reflection and contemplation that appears to help him view his marriage in a new light.
Read on to have the Spaceman ending explained.
Spaceman ending explained: Was Hanuš real?
At the end of the film, Jakub tells Hanuš that he feels fear and the spider responds: “But you also feel hope for you, your Lenka. That is the wisdom of your tribe. Can you hear her?”
Jakub responds that he can’t hear anything but Hanuš tells him to listen to the silence and he obliges, thanking Hanuš “for everything”.
Hanuš then appears to disintegrate in front of him, before we see a vision of Jakub back on Earth reunited with Lenka – who appears to be dressed as some sort of princess, complete with a crown and dyed red hair.
We then see the pair of them – he in space and she on Earth – appearing to telepathically communicate with each other, and the very final scenes show Lenka answering a phone call from Jakub, in which he tells her: “Thank you. If I had known then what I know now, I never would have left.”
She responds: “If I had known then what I know now, would I have kissed you?” and when he asks if she would, she smiles and says: “It was a really good kiss.”
This appears to suggest that they are prepared to give their marriage another shot, but the big question that is left unanswered is how much of this is really happening. Was Hanuš actually real or is this all happening in Jakub’s head?
According to director Johan Renck, there is no correct answer to that question, and it’s very much up to the individual viewer to decide.
“Any art lies in the eye of the beholder,” he told RadioTimes.com during an exclusive interview. “You know, that’s why we make it and I think, you know, it’s always the beauty of guiding how much impressionism you’re allowing for.
“Because in one way in a film, you have to have a… you have to follow a path as a viewer, you know, you can’t get completely lost. I mean, you can, you know, in an arthouse film, you’re allowed to do anything but hey, in a more conventional film of this kind, you have to have a path for the viewer to kind of keep tracking what’s going on and so on and so forth.
He added: “But at the same time, it’s all in the eye of the beholder… I’ve shown this film to friends, some people think that Hanuš is real, some people think that Hanuš is a figment of Jakub’s imagination and his inner monologue, you know, so to speak.
“My production designer I worked with for 20 years doesn’t believe anything happened. He believes that Jakub is sitting at home in his apartment in Prague being depressed after his wife has left him and this is all going on in his mind.
“It’s like, yeah, whatever floats your boat, man, there is no truth to these matters. It’s like reading a book, listening to a song, or reading a poem, whatever. It’s like, it’s what… your own experiences will guide how you take in the film, basically.”
Spaceman is now streaming on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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