In continuing my exploration of Soviet science fiction, I next moved on to Planeta Bur (also known as Planet Of Storms), directed by Pavel Klushantsev, and first released in 1962.
The film revolves around a voyage by three spaceships to the planet Venus in a Soviet mission, and the subsequent adventures and discoveries which the crews experience.
Overall, the atmosphere of the film is claustrophobic, grim and austere, with a tone of foreboding and unease. Venus I guess was, and is, a more mysterious and nebulous concept than the Moon or Mars, and this angle accentuates the apprehension, as the cosmonauts go outside to brave the surface of the planet.
The special effects and general technical quality of the film are pretty good, considering the likely budget and the time when the film was produced. There are occasional lapses in to near B-movie standards as regards props and sets, but in general it holds up, and in truth the realism of the effects is not the main point here. What is there is perfectly adequate, and more, in conveying the mood and the direction of the narrative.
Soviet science fiction movies do tend to tackle weighty topics, but I find that they come across as more convincing, and less patronizing, in so doing. There are times when sci-fi tries too hard, and emerges as excessively earnest and preachy, but this picture does not fall victim to that failing.
Planeta Bur examines a few big questions, both scientific matters and also ones concerning humans and their relationship with space and space exploration. There is an interesting sub-plot, not uncommon in science fiction, namely the extent to which "normal" rules and commands, adhered to on Earth, are also applicable or practicable once people are in space. This is seen with the decision to proceed even when one of the three spaceships is destroyed.
There is something about scenarios where people are far from home, and forced to co-exist with others. Temperaments are laid bare, and improvisation is important. This film does pose some questions about the role of the individual when set against the need for team-work, the notion of self-sacrifice and to what degree individuals are expendable in extreme circumstances.
One of the scenes which I found affecting was one where some of the cosmonauts start firing on and killing some of the creatures on Venus. This raised the thorny question of what right humans, in their urge to explore space, have to interfere with other worlds. After all, Venus had not threatened Earth, and they could argue that they were defending themselves.
Planeta Bur explores some fundamental questions about evolution, ancient civilizations and so forth, but I like the way that the debate amongst the cosmonauts is left largely unresolved, leaving much for the viewer on which to ruminate. The presence of a robot permits the standard agonizing about the relationship between humans and machines and technology.
How scientifically accurate or "valid" all this is must be open to debate, but this is science fiction, and of course in the early 1960s much less was known, or perhaps more correctly more was unknown. Having said all this, this film works well partly because the "science" is kept reasonably within the bounds of plausibility and human comprehension.
I think that the minimalist and understated approach to production values and to the storyline suits this film admirably. Also, the dialogue is intriguing, with plenty of dry humour in there, and not just run-of-the-mill sci-fi fare. Things are kept simple, but the movie is gripping and always interesting.
Oh, and the film's ending is wonderful....
Showing posts with label 1962. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1962. Show all posts
Sunday, 5 August 2018
Sunday, 2 August 2015
Island - Aldous Huxley - book review
I recently read Aldous Huxley's 1962 novel Island, which is often seen as the utopian counterpart to Brave New World.
This was the first time that I had read any of Huxley's work seriously. I chose Island because the philosophies which seemed to underpin it appealed to me;it is a "novel of ideas", and the ideas propounded here increasingly accord with my own inclinations.
In short, the plot revolves around an English journalist, Will Farnaby, who is shipwrecked on the island of Pala. He is working on behalf of an oil baron. Farnaby is exposed to the way of life on Pala, all of this against the backdrop of negotiations over oil concessions in the region, and with the spectre of invasion by an adjacent, less enlightened, island looming.
Pala is a community which seeks to achieve a fusion of the most enlightened ideas from both Europe and the Orient (the best of both worlds?), standing in contrast to the relentless advance of industrialization, consumerism, tyranny and mass communication in the outside world.
Despite my admiration for the ideals and values which the Palanese espouse, one is left with a feeling of regret and sadness early on in the piece, because of the inevitability of this utopia being trampled on by darker forces, which are intent on bringing the island in line with the misery and injustice being inflicted elsewhere.
To me, there was a real poignancy in reading this story, knowing that noble projects such as that in Pala will find themselves crushed, and dreary and oppressive conformity will be (forcibly) imposed. I say this even allowing for the customary charge that such utopian thinking is naive and "impractical". The feeling of helplessness and resignation is acute . Perhaps the world needs a new "age of enlightenment" - although that would probably be crushed, too....
I had expected Island to contain some criticism of organised Western religion, but was surprised at the vehemence of that criticism. There is much emphasis on Eastern philosophy in the Pala mix. The concepts of "oneness", awareness, mindfulness and so forth are a constant theme here.
There is I think a case for saying that Huxley was slightly ahead of his time in tackling matters like globalization, ecology and corporatism in such a way. He also makes some prescient observations about the fate of the ex-colonies in the developing world. The Palanese attitude to science and technology is also distinctive - seeking to make it work for the benefit of human freedom and happiness, rather than allowing people to become its prisoners.
A recurring message which I absorbed from this novel was the manner in which fear and insecurity are the main tools by which malign and repressive forces are introduced and embedded in society. Exploiting weaknesses and vices as opposed to harnessing virtues. Cynical, but regrettably highly effective.
Some of the more intriguing aspects of the Palanese vision are the social policies, which differ radically from those seen in the West, especially those concerning population, birth control and the family unit. Considerable space is also allocated to the educational practices and medical procedures designed to minimize and diminish tyrannical and autocratic tendencies in the citizens.
The Will Farnaby character was a little enigmatic to me, although I found his occasionally cynical and sarcastic comments quite endearing. These remarks sometimes made it tricky to discern his true attitudes to what he was absorbing and observing as he spent time in Pala.
As a novel, Island is awkward to appraise, in the conventional sense, but the expounding of ideas is most stimulating. There was less "action" in the narrative than I had anticipated, with the majority of the text taken up by Farnaby's discussions with various Palanese people about how things worked on the island. The geo-political manoeuvrings were more of a backdrop than a centerpiece for the most part. The ending is predictably downbeat and sobering.
As a "novel of ideas", this book is well worth a read.
This was the first time that I had read any of Huxley's work seriously. I chose Island because the philosophies which seemed to underpin it appealed to me;it is a "novel of ideas", and the ideas propounded here increasingly accord with my own inclinations.
In short, the plot revolves around an English journalist, Will Farnaby, who is shipwrecked on the island of Pala. He is working on behalf of an oil baron. Farnaby is exposed to the way of life on Pala, all of this against the backdrop of negotiations over oil concessions in the region, and with the spectre of invasion by an adjacent, less enlightened, island looming.
Pala is a community which seeks to achieve a fusion of the most enlightened ideas from both Europe and the Orient (the best of both worlds?), standing in contrast to the relentless advance of industrialization, consumerism, tyranny and mass communication in the outside world.
Despite my admiration for the ideals and values which the Palanese espouse, one is left with a feeling of regret and sadness early on in the piece, because of the inevitability of this utopia being trampled on by darker forces, which are intent on bringing the island in line with the misery and injustice being inflicted elsewhere.
To me, there was a real poignancy in reading this story, knowing that noble projects such as that in Pala will find themselves crushed, and dreary and oppressive conformity will be (forcibly) imposed. I say this even allowing for the customary charge that such utopian thinking is naive and "impractical". The feeling of helplessness and resignation is acute . Perhaps the world needs a new "age of enlightenment" - although that would probably be crushed, too....
I had expected Island to contain some criticism of organised Western religion, but was surprised at the vehemence of that criticism. There is much emphasis on Eastern philosophy in the Pala mix. The concepts of "oneness", awareness, mindfulness and so forth are a constant theme here.
There is I think a case for saying that Huxley was slightly ahead of his time in tackling matters like globalization, ecology and corporatism in such a way. He also makes some prescient observations about the fate of the ex-colonies in the developing world. The Palanese attitude to science and technology is also distinctive - seeking to make it work for the benefit of human freedom and happiness, rather than allowing people to become its prisoners.
A recurring message which I absorbed from this novel was the manner in which fear and insecurity are the main tools by which malign and repressive forces are introduced and embedded in society. Exploiting weaknesses and vices as opposed to harnessing virtues. Cynical, but regrettably highly effective.
Some of the more intriguing aspects of the Palanese vision are the social policies, which differ radically from those seen in the West, especially those concerning population, birth control and the family unit. Considerable space is also allocated to the educational practices and medical procedures designed to minimize and diminish tyrannical and autocratic tendencies in the citizens.
The Will Farnaby character was a little enigmatic to me, although I found his occasionally cynical and sarcastic comments quite endearing. These remarks sometimes made it tricky to discern his true attitudes to what he was absorbing and observing as he spent time in Pala.
As a novel, Island is awkward to appraise, in the conventional sense, but the expounding of ideas is most stimulating. There was less "action" in the narrative than I had anticipated, with the majority of the text taken up by Farnaby's discussions with various Palanese people about how things worked on the island. The geo-political manoeuvrings were more of a backdrop than a centerpiece for the most part. The ending is predictably downbeat and sobering.
As a "novel of ideas", this book is well worth a read.
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