Fellowship Film Club: Ep. 3 – Arrival (2016) / Interstellar (2014)

Two non-linear timelines. Two deeply human quests through the cosmos.

Dee and Ryan continue the Fellowship Film Club with an in-depth exploration of Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival (2016) and Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar (2014). In this episode, the hosts unpack how these sci-fi masterworks subvert standard genre tropes by placing emotional intimacy, parental bonds, and the perception of time at their core.

From production trivia and scientific fidelity to community Q&As on determinism and free will, stream the full episode below or read on for key takeaways from the discussion.

The episode kicks off with a deep dive into Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival, examining how the film radically eschews standard alien invasion tropes in favor of a grounded, slow-burn exploration of linguistics and empathy. Dee and Ryan break down the real-world Sapir-Whorf hypothesis and how learning an alien language alters the perception of time itself. They debate the central moral core of the story—Louise’s poignant choice to embrace love despite knowing the grief ahead—and share fascinating behind-the-scenes trivia, including how a 100-symbol logogram bible was developed for the film and why the original ending was changed specifically because of Interstellar.

The conversation then shifts to Christopher Nolan’s space epic, Interstellar, starting with how its breathtaking IMAX visuals inspired Dee’s real-life passion for astrophotography. The hosts discuss Nolan’s grounded approach to the near future, where agricultural crisis replaces typical sci-fi flash, before diving into the impressive balance of theoretical physics and practical set design that brought its black holes and tesseracts to life. From hidden musical details on Miller’s planet to the heartbreaking moral dilemmas faced by Cooper, Brand, and Dr. Mann, the pair explore how human emotion ultimately sits at the center of complex physics.

To wrap up, the hosts put both films side-by-side to pit their themes, musical scores, and depictions of parental love against one another. They answer community questions on which movie offers a more digestible view of time, how future causal loops shape the present, and whether these characters are acting on free will or marching toward a fixed fate. Finally, Dee and Ryan reveal their upcoming spooky picks for October—Villeneuve and Nolan set a high bar, but the next entries promise to take the club down very different paths.

If you’ve ever loved a film for the way it punches you in the heart and in the brain, this episode is for you.

Join the Discussion!

If you have thoughts, questions, or reviews about the films we’re covering and want them to be shared on the podcast; or recommendations for future films, email them to: fellowshipfilmclub@gmail.com.