#at-5

putting him in Situations <3

or something

Part of it is my intense autistic hyperfixation, and part of it is my innate, human joy for beautiful art and beautiful experiences. I think it's incredible that I can link such an incredible, meaningful mission to an amazing piece of art, in which both were so filled to the brim with passion and humanity.

Looking at this photo makes me think of Simon. If only Simon had been given the chance to have the pure wonder I have in looking at these photos, in looking at earth and her wife. If only he was given the chance to experience what I can only imagine to be the pure, grotesque beauty of AT-5.

Unlike the Artemis II moon trip, Simon wasn't given his mission out of wonder for our universe, nor for love of life and passion for work. He was given his mission because of the deep instinct for survival, and during his descent, he experienced that himself. In a way, it feels just as human and as beautiful as the moon trip.

This section here is mainly to block the spoilers that will follow. So in doing so, I feel like I’ll introduce this post a little bit. Pretty much, Iron lung is amazing to me, this movie has been in my head constantly, even though I’ve been up to other things and have been meaning to write this for like over two weeks (of course respecting Mark’s initial request for no spoilers upon release), this movie is driving me crazy in the best way possible. I want to use this as a chance to ramble about some of my thoughts on it, what I think certain things might mean or what I think might be going on, don’t expect all of it to be completely accurate or all make sense, just expect the crazed ramblings of a nerd who loves this movie and likes to think too deeply.

Aside from that little intro, I think it would be reasonable if I give my own personal review of it, here goes: “AAAAAAAAAAAASADFSTWHAJDIAJSKWMWKAAAA.”

Now I got that off my chest; I loved this movie beyond belief, the entire time, it felt tense, like a rollercoaster that’s constantly going up and you never know when it’ll plummet. I honestly love how it was paced, it feels really intentional, and while it does keep the viewer tense, it makes you think about what’s going on, is he really alone ?? What did they mean by this ?? What’s going to happen with X or Y ?? There’s times where it perfectly captures the feeling of actually playing the game, and all throughout you can tell that there’s an immense amount of love and soul put into the production of this on every level. The music, the acting, the set, everything feels perfect. Ontop of this, I feel like Iron Lung is a real game changer for creativity and production, I feel like it’s going to inspire more Indie creators, it’ll shed more light on the entire indie scene, it’ll show that you don’t need to be from the very top of all things to make something with heart.

I love Iron Lung, I think that Mark and his entire team, everyone involved did a wonderful job and I cannot sing praise enough. While I don’t speak on the behalf of everyone, I feel like, with the amount of low and support I’ve seen for this movie across many platforms and such, I can confidently say that we sing a massive thank you and amazing work to everyone involved in this movie :]

SPOILERS FOR IRON LUNG AHEAD !!

(I cannot get enough of this movie I need it in my veins)

I find it fascinating how, in the final act, the SM-13 feels as if it’s literally alive. I don’t know if it’s just me or if it was actually stated, but I swear I could hear the eel telling Simon that the ship was alive, which of course just fuels the fire I have for this.

Near the end, the oxygen meter of the ship starts to rise again, another light switches on, this of course is around the time that the blood of the ocean is starting to flood more, or at least is leaking more into the vessel. I find this especially interesting when you consider the colour of the blood. It’s a lighter red, given that the SM-8’s voice log confirms that the blood is human, which I still find terrifying and fascinating all in one, we can assume it follows the same principles as blood in our bodies. That would mean that the lighter blood is oxygenated. This is something that really stands out in my theory. It’s as if the SM-13 is breathing, or at least starting to take its first breath, the ship is actually coming to life.

Ontop of this, the vines, roots, whatever you want to call them, that start to grow in the SM-13 are so wildly interesting to me for a few reasons. As they rapidly take hold of the ship from the inside and piles of blood congest, they latch onto Simon, holding him up. May I just say, oh my god. at that scene. That’s all I can let out as my pure unfiltered reaction.

But anyways, the way it grabs onto him feel as if they’re trying to make Simon one with the ship as it comes to life, a point I find curious since the monster just outside was talking about allowing the survivors of the quiet rapture to find salvation as part of it. As if it’s trying to make us one whole being, or one with the moon, just as it did with the crew of the SM-8. It also makes me sick to think that Simon likely met the fate of becoming one of those creatures, especially considering the final shot we see of him before the vessel explodes. He almost looks monstrous, the butcher everyone called him finally showing himself.

Another hint toward this, while I know it’s just part of how the movie was made and imagery and everything, the way that the radio began spilling blood almost instantaneously following Ava’s death from her end of said radio is haunting, while it doesn’t fully suggest that the ship is alive, it really shows the impact of her death and emphasises it, but I mainly just wanted to point that out. My goodness.

Also, the moon itself seems to be alive in its own way, as if it’s an entire living and breathing organism. The fact that the blood oceans are liquid, that and warm. They’re not frozen like an ocean would be if it was a rogue moon with no atmosphere or anything to keep it going. And when Simon is in the caves, the pictures he takes almost make the tunnels look like the insides of veins, as if the blood is still flowing somewhere. That one might be a stretch, but I find to be an interesting thought.

I also had it pointed out to me that, from time to time, the pace of the music resembled a heartbeat, especially noticeable in Fate Welded Shut and Submerged. I don’t know if it’s just me or something aswell but I swear I could feel hints or inspiration from Frictional Games’ SOMA, one of my favourite horror games to ever exist for numerous reasons (including but not limited to tearing my heart in two).

I think it’s also worth mentioning a few other key points, the views of Eden, the biblical overlay all throughout, the idea of hope and grief.

Eden feels almost religious, which of course you can interpret from the name, but how they describe death I find interesting. The Father, again could be seen as religious interpretation considering the holy trinity, Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, says that when the last son of Eden joins the grove, a thousand trees will grow. Also, he says that the bodies of the sons of Eden will become one with the soil.

This is something that ties in with what I’ve seen going around, as the monster is destroyed and we get a look at it at the end, you can see something grow out of it, almost like a tree, along with roots that expand toward the camera’s perspective. Think back to the pendant Simon was given by his ‘brother’, the one he’s constantly carrying on his left hand, a sapling. Could it be that the sapling accepted Simon’s body as soil to grow from ?? Obviously, it would be supernatural for a tree to grow at that rate, it would be instantaneous, but in a universe where an event such as the Quiet Rapture can happen ?? Is that so strange ??

Also, the name alone of the event, the Quiet Rapture, is biblical, and it makes me wonder why everyone else was accepted, but the stations were left behind in this dying universe of ghost light. It’s implied that the anomalous light has something to do with it, fascinating since, in the movie, it’s redesigned in such a way that it looks angelic, a being of pure light in such a cold and dark universe, not to mention the light that Simon sees along with the beast in that ‘hallucination’ (I’m honestly still not sure what exactly to call that event, but my goodness it drives me crazy I love it). It would also give an answer as to why the blood in the ocean of AT-5 is human, whatever eldritch horror of a deity took control of the universe took us there, speaking through its monsters to bring the last ones toward it to join in its twisted masterpiece.

I’ll point out really quickly something that just came to mind, the fact that, who I’m assuming is the leader of Eden, is called the Father. The light Simon sees calls him ‘Son’, so is that light the Holy Spirit ?? Or would it be the angel in the ocean ?? The trinity has to be completed somehow.

I know it’s pointed out over and over since the movie came out, but the way Simon reacts to everything as event after event comes to torment him reflects the five stages of grief. But I also want to consider hope, and how it’s reflected through his pendant. Simon is constantly carrying that item, bracelet I think ?? The fact that it sticks with him through everything, every time he has even a spark of hope of getting out of the ocean alive. The hope that his life may continue like the trees will one day. But then by the end, when Ava tells him that not everyone gets to be saved, he deserves to live and escape but that won’t happen now, it’s only moments before that same arm is torn off thanks to the blood roots that grab him.

Simon loses his hope with that pendant, realising that he won’t make it out alive. There’s nothing waiting for him now, in his condition, his situation, there’s nothing but a subzero chance he’ll survive. Despite this he still tries, it’s here where he reaches acceptance and decides to fight the beast, that last shrivel of hope that he had is put into the Blackbox as he asks his mother to keep it safe, even if she wouldn’t recognise him as the supposed killer he is now as the monster tells him. He wants to believe that someone could love him enough to let some of his effort survive.

Thank you for listening, have a wonderful day, I’m gonna cry /pos :]

Okay, so I still love the theory that I had here, but I've thought of a way to expand and make it a little bit clearer... Because it is still consuming me, slowly but viscerally.

Okay, so I saw Iron Lung on opening day, absolutely loved it! And I've just been stewing in my thoughts and head canons ever since. A lot of them seem to be shared, since I've come across people who have similar opinions as me... For all but one. So, I figured I'd share!

I figured out how to add the cut just so I won't accidentally spoil it for anyone!

Clarice Gargard doet mee aan BNN reisprogramma

De AT-5 presentator, mede-iniatiefnemer van Cinnamon Wednesdays en recentelijk gast-columnist in de NRC, is gekozen om mee te doen met het programma 3 Op Reis Backpack van de BNN.  Dit schreef ze op haar Facebook pagina Travel Go Lucky:  (more…)