High Life
Convicts aboard a deep-space reproduction mission confront cosmic catastrophe, enforced intimacy, and the unsettling persistence of human instinct.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Dense
- Violence
- Graphic
- hypnotic
- bleak
- disturbing
- late night viewing
- cinephile discussion
What critics said
Critics broadly praised Claire Denis's visually arresting, challenging, hypnotic reinvention of science fiction as a profound and unsettling study of human nature.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film withholds explanatory information and unfolds its space mission through fragmented, enigmatic storytelling.
The ship, deep space, and black hole are rendered as sparse environments that intensify the characters' confinement.
Convicts are recruited as subjects in a human reproduction experiment led by Dibs.
The mission exposes brutality, infertility, and moral collapse beneath claims of scientific advancement.
Films like High Life, and why
Solaris
shares cryptic arthouse science fiction, existential isolation, and meditative pacing
Interstellar
shares bleak space survival, philosophical humanism, and visually austere futurism
Under the Skin
shares disturbing reproductive science fiction, body horror, and alienating atmosphere
The Martian
shares brutal cosmic isolation, experimental form, and psychologically intense science fiction
Movie Details
- Director
- Claire Denis
- Release Date
- 2018-09-26
- Runtime
- 113 min
- Rating
- 5.7 / 10 (1270)
Cast
- Robert Pattinson
- Juliette Binoche
- Mia Goth
- André 3000
- Agata Buzek
- Lars Eidinger
- Claire Tran
- Ewan Mitchell
- Gloria Obianyo
- Victor Banerjee
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is High Life about?
- Convicts aboard a deep-space reproduction mission confront cosmic catastrophe, enforced intimacy, and the unsettling persistence of human instinct.
- What is High Life like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of High Life as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as dense.
- Is High Life violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in High Life as graphic.
- What did critics think of High Life?
- Critics broadly praised Claire Denis's visually arresting, challenging, hypnotic reinvention of science fiction as a profound and unsettling study of human nature.
- Which films are like High Life?
- Films with a similar feel include Solaris, Interstellar, Under the Skin, and The Martian.
- How long is High Life?
- High Life runs 113 minutes.
- Where can I watch High Life?
- In United States, High Life streams on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
