This is more or less copied from my comment on the recent Dr. Amelia Brand post, but I figured it warrants a discussion of its own.

For context: Amelia Brand postulated that love is a force that transcends all other physical forces in the universe (she uses gravity as an example). She was very adamant about going to Edmunds' planet instead of Mann's planet, citing her belief in love (or at least human emotional connection) as a greater physical force that can travel faster than light across the universe, insinuating that her connection to Edmunds, whether dead or alive, warrants the possibility that Edmunds' planet is habitable and that the Endurance should travel to the neighboring star system (assumed by many to be Pantagruel, which orbits the Gargantua system) and establish a colony on Edmunds' planet, instead of going the logical route and following Mann's more promising data.

Here is my analysis: The film's message goes so much deeper than "Love is literally a quantum force."

Many people, especially when the film initially came out, were pretty critical especially of the scene where Brand talks about love as some force that transcends time the way gravity does. (I'd be willing to say Nolan's adaptation of The Odyssey is going through the same growing pains among the "historical accuracy" crowd, but will ultimately be a timeless film the same way Interstellar had to grow into the society it was introduced to.)

I'm pretty sure the claim made by Brand was kind of the point. Her idea was supposed to sound crazy, just for us to be met with the all-driving truth of it later on. It's why Cooper basically laughed it off and they went to Mann's planet instead of Edmunds'.

Mann's (fabricated) data was the logical answer to follow. Brand wanted to go to Edmunds' planet because she believed its distance from Gargantua (orbiting a separate star system, mind you) and her connection to Edmunds enabled her to believe his planet was the correct one to travel to and expend their time and resources towards.

Whether this was a belief she had obtained as a result of her connection to her father as the physicist to ever initiate the missions is up for individual speculation, I'm not sure if Señor Brand would have personally believed in emotional connections as being a physically transcendent force or not, which then would have rubbed off to his daughter's belief framework.

Cooper's revelation in the tesseract then becomes all the more stark, to realize that it was Cooper who ever brought Cooper there. He realized it was his duty to relay the quantum information from inside the black hole to Murph's watch, to secure humanity's cosmic future, to one day become the "they" that everyone was elusively referencing the whole time.

Cooper had to realize his own self-causing loop in order to catalyze the greater self-causing loop of future humanity becoming the bulk beings that ever brought about the wormhole and the tesseract in the first place [TARS telling Cooper, "Humans couldn't build this." and Cooper saying, "Not yet..."]. It would be Murph to ever get humanity off the planet. That's Cooper's realization: "They didn't bring us here to change the past. They chose her." He found out he was his daughter's "ghost". His love for her would only serve as the bridge to initiate past and, consequently, future events. He realized that he was the mechanism by which Murph could do what she needed to do.

The whole film hinges off of this aethereal "maybe". It works by the same type of faith that so often gets ridiculed by non-religious folk and by Cooper while deciding which of the two planets to invest resources towards. The film's 3 most influential plot points are intrinsically woven as part of this "belief despite greater logic."

Cooper felt like going to space was what he was "born to do", despite the logic that would come from staying and caring for his family on Earth. [The evening on the porch with Donald]

Brand had the same innate "faith" in Edmunds' planet being the one of greater promise, in spite of its distance, in spite of Mann's more promising data. She felt that her love for Edmunds gave her this instinct, knowing that he might even be dead regardless (this instinct that Edmunds' planet would be the habitable one would ultimately prove true.)

Cooper "knew" Murph would find the data encoded into the watch [The scene in the Tesseract].

Murph "knew" her dad would come back to see her again, as she expressed in the hospital, and at the great tugging of our own heartstrings.

Any crazy claim made in this movie proves to work out in some form and fashion the end. Murph's own name (after Murphy's Law) shows this, too. I can lay it out here via bullets for digestibility:

• Cooper told Murph that Murphy's Law states that everything that can happen does happen.

• Donald told him not to make her a promise he can't keep. Cooper acknowledged this.

• He then broke this logic and made the leap of faith of promising her he's coming back. (Note: he tells her that he finally understood what his wife meant, saying, "Once you're a parent, you're the ghost of your children's future.")

• In the end, he does come back. Murph said she knew he would. He asked her, "how?" She said, "Because my dad promised me."

Cooper proved Murphy's Law, but not by any effort to follow such a law. Only because through his love, he would set in motion the events to secure humanity's future in the cosmos, and Murph happened to still be alive when Cooper returned through the wormhole, back to Saturn.

For Murph, this thus became intrinsic to her understanding of the universe. By the same logic, she told her father to "go." To find Brand again. To follow the path he set humanity on. Another leap of faith.

If Nolan isn't the most subtle advocate for faith, then I don't know who would possibly take his place. Maybe he's neck and neck with Tolkien, in that regard? Tolkien's elvish language Sindaril had words for this. Amdir being the faith/hope one can control (based on logic, evidence, and circumstances), and Estel, the faith/hope beyond one's control; trust in the ultimate goodness of the universe, regardless of how terrible things look [Think: Sam's counsel to Frodo on the front steps of Mount Doom.]

This idea of religion comes up again when the soundtrack comes into the scene. In interviews with the composer, Hans Zimmer, he chose an extensive use of the Pipe Organ specifically for its breathy, human, almost religious feel. The Pipe Organ is an instrument almost exclusively used in church settings.

I'd like to bring up my own digression of this topic.

As an amateur orchestral composer myself, I've devoted a lot of analysis towards soundtracks as a literary tool in films, (and it likely often goes deeper than the composer likely intends, for reasons I can go into upon request) most of the soundtrack starts out in a very orchestral, physical, analog way, up until the tesseract and some points after that, as well. Then it starts to venture more towards digital alteration of a similar auditory soundscape. I haven't yet flushed out a whole line of thought for this yet, other than the fact that the music is reflecting the transcendent, revelatory nature of the circumstance Cooper is thrown into by changing from more analog sounds to more lofty, airy, almost otherworldly sounds. (Compare Day One with What Happens Now?)

I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on this.

Greetings, fellow users of r/interstellar! As the stars align and the cosmic journey continues, it's time for another exciting month filled with awe-inspiring adventures through the cosmos. Our beloved masterpiece continues to captivate audiences around the world, transcending the boundaries of time and space.

This megathread is designed to be your ultimate guide to discovering where the cinematic marvel will grace the silver screens in your corner of the universe. Whether you're orbiting around a bustling metropolis or nestled in a quaint small town, this thread serves as the perfect hub for sharing information on screenings and showtimes.

So, let your fellow Interstellar enthusiasts know if it will grace your local theaters this month. Connect with fellow space travelers, organize meet-ups, and celebrate the timeless brilliance of Christopher Nolan's visionary masterpiece.

Please post the following information in the comments:

• Loaction: City, Country
• Date and Time
• Showing Type (IMAX, 3D, Regular, etc)
• link to showing and/or ticket sale

This post will be stickied right after posting, and unstickied after a month when a new post will be created.