Han Yan's "Per Aspera Ad Astra"
Movie review by Dennis D. McDonald
This movie succeeds despite being assembled from a plethora of familiar elements, among them: long term hibernation in space, invading other people's dreams (and dreams within dreams), and frequent references to pop culture and THE DANGERS OF AI which by now is old hat but here creatively explored.
Nevertheless, spectacular production design and special effects, affective and sympathetic performances, and clever (and humorous) incorporation of frequent Chinese cultural references set it apart from ultimately boring Chinese SF spectacles like The Wandering Earth.
The story: an AI-managed starship on its way to a distant planet experiences a problem. A technician awakens from hibernation and realizes he needs to awaken the ship's captain. To do so he must insert himself into her dreams, which all hibernating colonists are experiencing as a way to maintain "neural health" during long term hibernation. Thus begins the movie's alternation between ship-based emergencies and increasingly bizarre dream sequences that reflect how dreams are impacted by personal histories, Chinese cultural imagery, and the increasing realization that both human and AI "characters" are threatening the ship in some way.
Visually the movie is a wonder to behold, especially the dream sequences, which, despite their overall reliance on familiar story elements, are illustrated in unique, surprising, and creative ways.
In summary, there's more than enough creativity (and even whimsy) to entertain a sci-fi fan like myself. Plus, the English subtitles (we watched the Mandarin version) are excellent and provide just enough explanation of what's going on.
This is a fun film even though by now “the dangers of AI” are a commonplace concern permeating society. Recommended.
Review copyright (c) 2026 by Dennis D. McDonald
