400 DAYS is one weird movie. Four astronauts go into an underground facility for 400 days to test human psychological responses to deep space flight. During their stay, they stick with routines, rub each other the wrong way, and try to get through it as best they can. After some time, however, a massive thud is heard overhead, and they lose contact with the man playing the part of ground control. Later, they hear a tapping on the hatch and learn that while they were underground, the apocalypse occurred. Or did it?
The movie is both fascinating and frustrating. The four astronauts don’t act like astronauts, the apocalypse doesn’t make sense, the crew are given shots that are supposed to be immune boosters but might something else, people they see in the town are the same as were at the press conference, the town wasn’t there when they went in the hole, the list goes on. By the end, you may find yourself questioning if what happened above ground was real or part of the test, whether it didn’t happen at all but was in their heads down in the bunker, or even if it all might have happened in one person’s head. The intrigue kept me watching through the frustration, as I wanted answers, but the movie ends with the same balance of frustration and intrigue. I found myself Googling “400 DAYS ending explained” and reading theories for an hour.
So overall, it’s a tough one to recommend, but it did get me on one level, and I did find it an intriguing watch. If you see it, be sure to share your theory on what the heck was going on.
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