Director Duncan Jones takes philosophy to the moon

Sam in 'Moon'
Sam Rockwell as the sole resident of a mining base on the moon in Duncan Jones' film "Moon."
Image courtesy Sony Pictures Classics

Film director Duncan Jones had some very specific goals as he approached his first feature film. He wanted to work with character actor Sam Rockwell, he wanted to make a science fiction film, and he wanted to blend in some philosophy.

The resulting film "Moon" screens tonight at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival. It's about a man who has been alone on a moonbase for three years.

Duncan Jones
Duncan Jones spent years training as a philosopher before turning to film. He says the story behind his first feature "Moon" is science fiction about being a human and an exploration of the self.
MPR photo/Euan Kerr

Things take an odd twist when Sam discovers there's someone else on the base, a younger version of himself.

Jones, who is the son of pop icon David Bowie, told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr that before he made movies, he studied philosophy for many years as an academic.

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