Biosphere | 2022 | NR | – 6.2.9

Why is “Biosphere” rated NR? The MPAA has not rated this film. The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a sex scene without nudity, a scene of partial nudity, discussions of sex, gender transformation, procreation and survival, two cases of spontaneous sequential hermaphroditism (first affecting a fish and later a man), a storm that causes damage to a biosphere, discussions about an apocalyptic event that apparently wiped out life on Earth, a few arguments with one resulting in some pushing, and nearly 50 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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Two men (Sterling K. Brown and Mark Duplass) living in a small artificial biosphere, playing video games and tending to their dwindling pool of fish and hydroponic garden, seem to be the last human survivors after an apparent apocalypse. When one of them unexpectedly begins an elemental evolutionary transformation, they wonder if nature may still save humanity. Directed by Mel Eslyn. [Running Time: 1:46]

Biosphere SEX/NUDITY 6

 – A man undergoes a spontaneous process of sequential hermaphroditism (his male genitals are converted to female genitals and his breasts become enlarged; he remains otherwise morphologically and behaviorally male); he asks another man if they could make a baby, they argue about how they would go about it, and he’s shown pregnant with a swollen abdomen later.
► A man who has undergone a process of spontaneously sequential hermaphroditism lies on a sofa covered with a sheet with a hole cut out at the position of penetration for another man to use; the second man climbs on top of the first one and thrusts, the sheet is pulled away to reveal the other man’s face and they kiss (we later see them sleeping together on the sofa). A man touches himself in order to become aroused (the activity happens below the frame) before having sex with another man who has undergone spontaneously sequential hermaphroditism.
► It is implied that a man becomes aroused when he looks at a man seated next to him, who has developed breasts (no nudity is evident). A man says that he misses sex. A man talks to another man about hearing noises that he implies are of the other man masturbating. Two men discuss being soulmates in a few scenes.
► A man rushes out of a room and yells from the bathroom; another man enters the room and asks the first man where his genitals went as he kneels down in front of him to look at his groin (we see the side of the man’s bare buttock). A man is alarmed when he realizes that he’s growing breasts. A man places a phallus-shaped award in a box, with a drawing of a male penis on the lid. A man massages a man’s foot. A man kisses a dead fish. Two men wrestle briefly and one man becomes uncomfortable.
► A man stands up from a toilet and we see the blurry flesh tone of his bare hip and buttock through diffused glass. We see a man’s bare buttocks and glimpse pubic hair between his legs. A man tells another man that he is having a menstrual cycle. A man comes out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his body (we see bare shoulders, back and cleavage).

Biosphere VIOLENCE/GORE 2

 – We hear loud thumping and banging on the outside of their biosphere and something crashes through the glass enclosure; two men struggle to seal the hole before they lose their oxygen and they dump a tank containing fish in order to use a rubber bladder to seal the opening (we later see many dead fish on the floor).
► Two men argue in several scenes and sometimes bitterly, ending in not talking to each other for a while. A man has a panic attack, complains of not being able to breathe and holds his chest in a couple of scenes. A man is alarmed when he takes a dead fish out of a tank and realizes that it is the last female fish they have. A man rushes out of a room and yells from the bathroom; another man enters the room and asks the first man where his genitals went.
► A man pushes another man away from him when approaching, and makes a crude reference to gay people. A man tells another man that they are going to die. A man is upset and talks about another man “managing” him and “handling” him. A man accuses another man of “pouting.” A man says, “I ruined the world.” A man talks about being brought up with a strict definition of masculinity. A man talks about hoping that they will be able to deliver a baby biologically.
► Two men become concerned about a glowing green light in the sky. A man throws books at another man and they hit the glass of their biosphere causing the other man to become concerned. Two men shove each other, play fight, and then slap each other with a towel.
► A man gags and rushes out of the room and to the bathroom (presumably to vomit, but we do not hear or see anything). A fish in a tank changes color and sloughs off scales. A man picks something out of another man’s teeth.

Biosphere LANGUAGE 9

 – About 46 F-words, 7 sexual references, 31 scatological terms, 14 anatomical terms (a phrase written on a sticky note is seen in a couple of scenes), 5 mild obscenities, 1 derogatory term for gay people, name-calling (sidekick, dude, bro, critical, idiot, capricious, giant man baby, touchy, weird, wimp, fussy, dumb, fussbudget, ignorant, fat, ew, leave me alone, crazy college vibes, meat puppet), exclamations (whatever, unbelievable, calm down, frickin’), 2 religious profanities (GD), 9 religious exclamations (e.g. oh my God, oh God, God, Jesus, Holy [scatological term deleted]). | profanity glossary |

Biosphere SUBSTANCE USE

 – None.

Biosphere DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Isolation, end of the world, friendship, relationships, evolution, sacrifice, hope, Mario Bros., trust, teamwork, control, gender, homophobia, politics, masculinity, spontaneously sequential hermaphroditism, gender and anatomical transformation.

Biosphere MESSAGE

 – Life will always find a way to perpetuate itself.