Uranus 2324: A Film Review
TAGS | editorial, international
Ann Gry
Ann Gry is a science fiction fan and writer, three times finalist for the Hugo Awards as a fanzine co-editor of Journey Planet. Ann loves cinema and promotes Irish films worldwide, and currently resides in Thailand. You can find Ann at anngry.com and @anngraigh on Instagram and X.
Uranus 2324 (dir. Thanadol Nualsuth, 2024) was promoted as the first Thai sci-fi space movie and became a highly anticipated local “blockbuster”. Disappointingly, it does not deliver on that promise and only has a small part set in space, but is nonetheless a surprisingly heartwarming story in the multiverse subgenre.
The story revolves around a pair of star-crossed lovers, Lin (Freen Sarocha Chankimha) and Kath (Rebecca Patricia 'Becky' Armstrong), who fall in love with each other when they are both in school. Life happens, and Kath is forced to leave her freediving1 passion, following her mom to New York. Lin becomes an astrophysicist and eventually the first Thai cosmonaut. When we find them grown-up, Lin is a member of a joint mission with JAXA2 and NASA and the respective Japanese and American colleagues, bound for a Lunar Gateway station.
When we get there, we discover the exterior of a sprawling, beautiful space station reminiscent of Gravity (dir. Alfonso Cuarón, 2013). The fact that it looks incredible is due, in no small part, to the 1:1 scale set of the station. I believe this is not only admirable in today’s CGI-saturated world of production, but also creates a more timeless end-product; this is why old episodes of Star Wars are still endlessly rewatchable, and Uranus 2324 opens the door to living this love story again and again.
Of course, when it comes to outer space, one key question is: “how does the film portray zero gravity? While only the actor of Lin, Freen, attempts to embody it by standing on her toes, other members of the cast hold onto rails from time to time. Combined with the swaying camera, the space section felt almost believable, but that soon changed.
After the rushed space story, the plot somehow plunges into the multiverse, with little warning. Taking the idiom of “I love you throughout all times and worlds” to a multiverse narrative is interesting and felt touching as a whole. However, due tothe way this was executed narratively, the movie unfortunately does get somewhat confusing.
First of all, Kath travels between timelines by diving to 100 ft and dying. When she stops breathing, she jumps to the next timeline. At least, it seems so, no concrete explanation is given.
While the creators try to imitate stories from Dr. Who and Marvel, it also resembles the isekai anime genre where the hero jumps into other, sometimes implausible dimensions. In Uranus 2324, we begin in the world where a Thai woman can become an astronaut, and quickly dive into other worlds randomly.
A memorable storyline was one where the story jumped in time about 60 years back. It is unclear why this was the only storyline that seemed to do that, and why that period of time, but nonetheless we find ourselves with Kathy in the last years of WWII. In a stroke of alternate history, Japan has won the war on the whole, and Germany’s fate or involvement isn’t really mentioned. Instead of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nukes were instead dropped on New York. The following sequences focus on the resistance of Thai people against the Japanese occupation.
While this storyline was at times striking and resonant, it was ultimately nonsensical, as touching moments of badass women in occupational resistance quickly morphed into one persisting nagging question: “Why am I watching this short film, a historical one, instead of the promised space adventure?”
It seems to me that the film would’ve benefited from additional exposition to set up the stakes and the reasons for these seemingly random excursions through the multiverse. This could be done in a quick succession of scenes, a bit like in Everything Everywhere All at Once (dir. Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, 2022). This would at least show us that Kath traveled a lot. Yet, in Uranus 2324, we are only left to infer this from Kath’s monologue in the WWII portion where she says that she is tired of chasing Lin, her love, across all the different timelines.
Unlike Dr. Strange, who in Avengers Infinity War, ultimately leads his superhero squadron down the best possible scenario, Kath does not end up finding the ideal timeline. Kath seems to know that every world, every timeline contains suffering.
I think this is where Thai stories on screen really excel; they show not just that there is suffering, but that they reject trying to conquer every last bit of it, and show that we can make peace with it and live on. Thai films constantly teach us that life is worth living as it is. Uranus 2324, while failing at being a solid space science fiction movie, is stellar at carrying out this idea through its heartwarming performances and leaves us feeling like love will guide you through the pain and suffering the world keeps throwing at you.
Overall, I thought I would be disappointed as I truly wanted to see that first Thai science fiction space film, but I am glad I watched it. Uranus 2324 is a nice picture especially when you are a “prepared” viewer and are okay with the kaleidoscope of timelines. Will Thailand come forth as a country capable of making great SF films? I think Thai actresses are amazing in portraying these strong female characters that have been so necessary in sci-fi narratives, and as demonstrated in this film, time travel seems to fit Thai settings really well.
I also adore that there is no discrimination edge to Thai BL and GL stories. Two people just fall in love. In a world of multiverse jumping, freediving, time-travelling madness, this matter-of-fact-ness of love just feels like it ties the film together.
- 1 Freediving is a type of underwater diving when a person holds their breath and dive without an additional oxygen tank or scuba equipment.
- 2 Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency