Scale is a constant challenge in science fiction cinematic storytelling. Too large a scope can make your story seem more focused on spectacle, while something more intimate could suggest you didn’t have a budget. Screenwriter and director Jérémy Clapin Meanwhile on Earth is a picture that sees its plot and execution somewhere in the middle of that spectrum. The narrative is sparse, but the intent and lead performance telling the story remains clear.

Grief drives the emotional thread that runs through it Meanwhile on Earthas we follow the protagonist Elsa (megan Northam) while processing the disappearance of his astronaut brother (Yoan Germain Le mat) during a mission. In the midst of this effort, a strange phenomenon seems to reconnect the two brothers through the immensity of space.