Why it should happen... Even among true devotees of science-fiction films, the kind who want to be reborn as Fritz Lang, this one probably drew a few blank stares. Another Earth was critically lauded when it released in 2011, but failed to find a place in the consciousness of audiences during a year that saw an unusual number of quality releases in the genre. That's too bad, because director Mike Cahill's film is something we see all too rarely: speculative science-fiction in the mode of the past masters with a plot spanning two realities, but a story that is very, very human. Like the best of the form, it isn't interested as much in concept as in exploring how a new discovery in our universe affects our view of ourselves. ...but will it? The film is still available on Blu-Ray, and if I had to guess, I'd say that it has to percolate for a few years before being invited into Criterion's ranks. But I could be wrong: the CC seems very interested in science-fiction lately, with titles including Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris, H.G. Welles' Things to Come, Fritz Lang's Ministry of Fear and Guillermo Del Toro's Cronos. But since none of those titles are readily available in any other western release, it's a safe bet that Another Earth will have to fade from availability before it is considered.
