“Spaceman” is a 2024 American science fiction drama, directed by Johan Renck, available to watch on Netflix. Starring Adam Sandler, Carey Mulligan, Kunal Nayyar, Isabella Rossellini, and Paul Dano, this movie is based on the 2017 novel ‘Spaceman of Bohemia’ by Jaroslav Kalfař. The movie follows an astronaut who is sent on a space mission and encounters a suspicious creature that helps him solve his earthly problems and dilemmas.
Plot Summary
Czech astronaut Jakub Procházka is on a space mission to investigate a mysterious cloud of dust and particles, called Chopra. Six months into the mission, Jakub succumbed to loneliness as he couldn’t get to talk to his wife through Czech Connect.
On the other hand, his wife Lenka does not want to talk to him as he has left her and their unborn daughter behind to go on the mission. Lenka sends a video message to Jakub addressing her decision to leave him, but Jakub’s commanding officer, Tuma, does not let this message reach Jakub as this will worsen his mental state, which will hinder their mission. Days later, and with no news from Lenka’s side, Jakub starts seeing a spider with telepathic skills inside his ship. Jakub further names the creature as Hanus, who wishes to understand humans better and helps Jakub with his loneliness.
Background into Jakub’s life
Jakub, whose dream was to know about the universe and solar system, always worked hard to reach Jupiter. Jakub’s wife Lenka always loved and supported his decisions, and started to lose her faith in Jakub. Since they lost their first child to miscarriage, Jakub had not been there with her when she needed him the most. Again he left for his mission, leaving their second unborn daughter and wife alone in the world of uncertainty, making her lonelier day by day. Jakub, whose attention has always been on his life and goals, failed to look into the needs of his wife. Jakub starts to get lonelier in six months, all alone in space, and starts reaching towards his wife, but she is now headstrong to leave him. Jakub starts to feel anxious and depressed as she is not talking to him and contemplates his life
Why Lenka’s message not sent to Jakub?
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Lenka sends a video message to Jakub stating her decision to leave him. But her message has to go through the space station first, where an officer sees her message and brings it over to the commanding officer. She orders the message not to be sent to Jakub as it will affect his mental health, which is also their priority for the success of their mission. Peter lies to Jakub as Lenka is on her way to meet her mother and that’s why she is not responding to his calls. They lied to him to keep him and their mission safe.
How Hanus and Jakub Slowly Bonded?
Hanus, upon his arrival, mentions that he is harmless and is just an explorer like Jakub. He is traveling to the edges of the solar system where he feels a pull from humans. He surveyed the earth from its orbit, studied history and learned languages. And then he came across Jakub’s spaceship and was intrigued by his loneliness and wanted to study him more. Hanus slowly started to delve deep into the memories of Jakub, studying and understanding him and slowly helping him to overcome his loneliness. Furthermore, Hanus helped Jakub understand the mistakes he had made in his life, helped him overcome them and taught him about the laws of nature.
Did Hanus leave?
Hanus is successful in pinpointing every mistake Jakub has made in his relationship. He should have acted like a father, but he escaped his responsibilities, and he does not try to understand his mate and only thinks about himself. He is always breaking promises he made to Lenka, which made him lose faith in him. He is working to lessen the guilt he feels because of his father. Hanus mentions that he first thought selfishness and shortsightedness were part of human nature, but he later understood that Jakub was the sole reason behind his loneliness. Hanus leaves, telling Jakub that he should come back with a new discovery. Jakub reflects on his life and asks Peter to go to Lenka as he needs to talk to her. Jakub becomes clear about his feelings for Lenka. Hanus surprisingly comes back and tells the truth about how he is slowly dying. Jakub asks why he hasn’t told him about the truth before, to which Hanus replies Jakub has never asked about him. Jakub feels guilty about his selfishness.
Why did Jakub leave the Spaceship?
While collecting samples from Chopra, the space ground center faces some problems. Peter asks Jakub to abort the collection immediately as they are recording numerous malfunctions and catastrophic system failures. On the other hand, Jakub sees Hanus leaving the spaceship and decides to help him and leaves the spaceship as well. Hanus took Jakub on a journey to the universe.
Spaceman Ending Explained
Hanus takes Jakub on a journey of life and a universe he has never been to. He taught how everything is permanent and yet nothing is. Jakub understands how wrong it was on his part to leave for a mission without solving his immediate family problems. Hanus shows The Beginning and The Ending to Jakub which makes him remember Lenka, his past, present and future. Jakub starts hallucinating a young boy; his childhood and his father. Hanus told him that this was his beginning with Lenka, that he met her was a miracle referring to the fact there he still had time to mend his mistakes. Jakub understood his life, all his success was meaningless without Lenka by his side. In the end, Hanus starts to vanish in thin air. And by the end of the movie, we see Jakub talking to Lenka through a space station.
We hope you liked the detailed explanation of the movie! If you are interested in sci-fi movies with a psychological touch we recommend you watch this movie with your loved one.