**_An emotive family drama that will disappoint those hoping for sci-fi spectacle_** > Anyone who sits on top of the largest hydrogen-oxygen fuelled system in the world, knowing they're going to light the bottom, and doesn't get a little worried, does not fully understand the situation. - Cpt. John Young (commander of the _Columbia_ for STS-1 in 1981, the inaugural spaceflight of NASA's Space Shuttle program) > Aside from the obvious differences, how do you assess the differences in men and women astronauts? > Aside from the obvious differences, I don't think there are any. - Sally Ride (the first American woman in space) answering a question at a _Challenger_ crew press conference for STS-7 in 1983 Written by Alice Winocour and Jean-Stéphane Bron, and directed by Winocour, _Proxima_ centers on the story of a mother and daughter navigating impending separation. The fact that the mother is an astronaut preparing for a year-long mission to Mars feels secondary; instead, the film explores more universal themes – the often conflicting demands of career and family. It also examines the pressures placed on women in traditionally male fields where displays of strength are valued. Similar to films like Philip Kaufman's _The Right Stuff_ (1983) and Damien Chazelle’s _First Man_ (2018), rather than recent science-fiction movies such as Pella Kågerman and Hugo Lilja's _Aniara_ (2018) or James Gray's _Ad Astra_ (2019), _Proxima_ quietly details the intense dedication required to prepare for space travel. While the narrative occasionally falters, and Winocour departs from realism in a key scene near the end, _Proxima_ is well-acted throughout. It won’t appeal to viewers seeking grand sci-fi narratives or existential themes, but it remains a poignant look at motherhood. In the near future, Sarah Loreau (played superbly by Eva Green) is a French astronaut stationed at the European Astronaut Centre (ESC) in Cologne. She's the only woman in the program and shares her life with Stella (a remarkable Zélie Boulant-Lemesle), her seven-year-old daughter. Unexpectedly, Sarah is selected to replace a crew member on the _Proxima_ mission – a year-long exploratory journey to Mars before colonization begins. She undergoes training at ESC, then travels to the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City, Russia, and finally to the launch site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Alongside her are mission commander Mike Shannon (an excellent Matt Dillion), an experienced but boastful man who publicly welcomes Sarah by remarking that, as a French woman, she’s likely a good cook, and Anton Ocheivsky (Aleksey Fateev), a soft-spoken Ukrainian cosmonaut. Simultaneously, Sarah is trying to help Stella adjust to living with her estranged husband, Thomas (Lars Eidinger). However, the job's demands and the resulting separation put considerable strain on Sarah’s relationship with Stella, leading her to consider withdrawing from the mission altogether. _Proxima_ represents Winocour's third film after _Augustine_ (2012) and the criminally underrated _Maryland_ (2015), which both explore intense, highly skilled men grappling between their professional lives and personal commitments—a familiar trope seen in many Michael Mann films. With _Proxima_, however, Winocour ventures into new territory; while the protagonist faces a similar struggle, she is, for the first time, female. Winocour examines the conflict between private and professional life through a recurring motif: an ESC employee asking Sarah to sign documents stating whether she wants to be informed if anything happens to Stella. The immediate instinct is to sign them—who wouldn’t want to know if their child were ill or had died? But, as Winocour presents it, the situation is more complex; consider Sarah's helplessness—she would be stuck in space knowing her daughter was gone while still needing to complete her assignment. This highlights the conflict between Sarah's attachment to Stella and her commitment to the mission’s success. This motif also touches on other thematic concerns. It speaks to the challenges of leaving Earth and living in space for a year. Furthermore, it contributes to a reimagining of a traditionally male narrative through a feminist lens

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