Published on Saturday, September 29, 2007 - 3:48pm
Stan the Progressor wants to let you know about the exciting developments in Russian Science Fiction that are coming soon!
Hey folks, Harry here - While I'm quite excited about the advent of Russian Sci-fi that is impending, I really see no need in bringing down NIGHTWATCH and DAYWATCH - both of which are incredibly satisfying and thrilling films. Yes, they're pulpy, but there isn't a damn thing wrong with that. Here's his report!
I'm a long-time reader, first-time contributor. The reason I'm writing
you is because you've expressed interest in the recent releases of
Russian science fiction movies, but I'm not sure that you are aware of
the much bigger fish (plural) they are currently frying over in Mother
Russia.
Although Nightwatch and Daywatch had an innovative visual style and
neat special effects, and collected very well at the box office
(not to mention penetrating Western markets to some degree), they had
two huge drawbacks. Both had to do with the source material:
Lukyanenko's books they were based on were pretty much L. Ron
Hubbard-level drivel and the director Timur Bekmambetov's "vision" really did not help wash the bovine excrement out of the plotlines.
I'm almost ashamed that this material was the first modern Russian creation to reach the Western audiences--this is indeed a very limp comeback after, say, Tarkovsky's "Solaris."
But now, Russians are pulling out the big guns. Work is currently being done on THREE films based on the books of Arkady and Boris Strugatsky brothers (ABS), the Gods of Soviet science fiction, men of impeccable writing that’s fascinating at all levels. Literally, from their take on values and the meaning of life, to the minutiae of how someone puts mustard on a sandwich, everything is scrumptious.
They paint a picture of a better future, a future where humanity's capabilities are limitless, and man no longer has to do anything to survive or even live prosperously. Some of their works deal with the difficulties of “getting there,” dealing with greed and fascism. But ultimately, Strugatskys bet that, since such future can only be attained by hard-working and innovative people, it is their thinking and their values that shapes the character of people in this new age of Renaissance, where people actually consider work FUN. The universe becomes their plaything, but, being surrounded by good people and shiny progress on all sides, these trusting, optimistic and enthusiastic people forget about the darkness and chaos. But it's there. It's there, waiting on the less-developed planets. It's there, carried inside alien minds. And it's still there inside humans, no matter how deep they bury it. And it must be fought back.
Their books are very good, and four generations of Russians considered them as vital as mother's milk. The only thing I ever saw on this shore of the Atlantic Ocean that came close to this level of admiration was the fervor of Tokienites and the geekdom of Star Wars. I'm sorry to notice that the latest English translations of their books were printed in 1980s--do hunt them down if you can, but know that their most interesting works were never translated.
So it is with reverence and great caution that I decided to survey the current state of production of movies based on three of the greatest works by ABS. My assumption is, from the get-go, that ABS novels cannot be made in flesh, because many of the philosophical passages and introspections which make ABS writing so great would be lost. But even without them, it's still pretty strong science fiction, so I list the movies in the order of how badly I think the directors might screw it up.
“Tudno byt’ bogom” (It’s Hard to Be a God) [2008]
Excit-o-meter: 80%
Director: Aleksei German
Notable cast: Leonid Yarmolnik
Epigraph:
“I must warn you about one thing. While completing your task, you will be given a weapon to raise your authority. But you are not allowed to use it under any circumstances. Under any circumstances! Do you understand?” -- Ernest Hemingway
Plot summary:
[SPOILER START]
Humans discover a planet very similar to Earth, but quite behind in terms of progress, and what’s worse--currently descending into the Dark Ages. That civilization is quickly losing its way—scientists and artists are being murdered to impose complacency. Inquisition, gangs, and lawless armies mutilate and rule the sheep-like population. A group of specially trained experimental human historians called “progressors” infiltrates this society to try to gently steer it away from total disaster. The key word here is “gently.” Progressors are not supposed to interfere too much because it could be that this planet is destined to follow a different destiny. It’s a slippery slope. The story is told from the point of view of one such agent, Don Rumata, who’s given up the cushy and idyllic life on future Earth to make a difference on this dirty backwards little planet. Every day, he finds himself submerged deeper and deeper in the darkness descending upon this world. His hands are tied.
[SPOILER END]
It’s sort of a little “screw you” to Star Trek’s “the prime directive,” but, of course, written long before Star Trek existed.
About the movie: This movie is shot in grayscale, and has spent 7 years in production (and counting). The script was co-written with ABS in 1968. The visual style is inspired by the paintings of Bosch.
About the director: Aleksei German is an old-guard perfectionist, with a fantastic knack for realism and good grip of wartime imagery/mentality. This is his last movie.
About the actors: Leonid Yarmolnik is a high-caliber, Soviet-era comedy actor, reportedly hired because he nailed a very crucial bit of dialogue during auditions, and because German had lots of prior success of using comedy actors in serious dramas. The rest of the cast is spot-on.
Plot summary:
[SPOILER]
A lone space tourist (a 22-year old student) picks a random planet to visit, and his accumulators blow up (he later find out this was done by a robot tank on patrol). He finds himself on a planet full of humanoids, in a country under strict totalitarian control of the Unknown Fathers, five anonymous rulers. Before long, he finds himself joining the rebel resistance and fighting the regime, stuck in a tank battle in a middle of a nuclear war, soliciting the help of the mutant outcasts, falling in love with a local woman, and cracking the innermost secrets of the government’s crowd control machine.
[END SPOILER]
It is really quite an epic story, spanning a few years and a number of locations.
About the movie: It will consist of two parts, with a combined budget of $30 million, unprecedented for a Russian production. The movies’ apparent visual influences of Gladiator, The Matrix and Lord of the Rings, and some of the art direction I’m seeing in the photos are at stark odds with the material in the books, and give cause for concern.
On the other hand, the scriptwriters are able and rabid fans of the original material, so it would be interesting to see where the chips will fall.
About the director: Fyodor’s first big movie, the 9th Company, was a rather competent entry, aside from occasional bits of silliness. He’s very much a modern cinematographer, and may emphasize “cool” bits over the less exciting ones that are more important to the message.
Links:
Official site: Click Here
(The sign on the planet says: “Planet Saraksh. WARNING! Closed for visitation.”)
“Roadside Picnic” [Unannounced]
Excit-o-meter: 40%
Director: David Jacobson
Notable cast: John Travolta
Producers: Neal Moritz, Tom Sternberg, John Calley
Ok, so I lied, this last movie is not made by Russians, but I’m very, very worried. It’s based on ABS’s darkest novel, and the source material is outstanding. It inspired Tarkovsky’s “Stalker,” but no one in their right mind would relate that movie to this novel.
This is a kind of novel that, if translated to screen well, can elevate a director or a producer to the status of a Sci-Fi cinema God, something like what the “Blade Runner” did for Ridley Scott. Or, maintain the status of a Sci-Fi cinema God: I always hoped that The Roadside Picnic would get the John Cameron treatment.
Here’s the plot synopsis:
[SPOILERS START]
A bunch of anomalous “zones” spring up in various places on Earth. The zones are full on unusual dangers, but also alien artifacts with amazing properties. This story focuses on the life in a small, dead-end city in the middle of nowhere which becomes important because of a “zone” developing in its midst and causing a catastrophe. Smugglers, called “stalkers,” risk their lives to retrieve the artifacts and sell them on black markets, while big-ticket scientists try to find out how they work, without much success. Much of the story describes the life of Redrick Shuhart, one of the original and most respected stalkers, and the ways in which the zone affects his life (including bringing back his dead father, now a zombie, and mutating his daughter into something less and less human every day) and the life of his city (his friends, the research institute, the zone police, the weapons research labs). “The zone” brings out the worst in people, and, gradually, Redrick becomes convinced that he must go through the nine layers of hell into the deepest, most dangerous areas of the zone, to retrieve the one artifact that could change the world.
[SPOILERS END]
I actually don’t know enough about David Jacobson/Neal Moritz pairing to make a prediction one way or another, but if any of you Hollywood types are reading this and can relay the message to people involved with this production, that would be:
PLEASE, DON’T SCREW THIS UP!
This is a very serious work, and is not just some cops-and-robbers romp through the zone of alien artifacts. I hope that none of the “Stealth,” “xXx,” or “The Fast and the Furious” pedigree seeps through to affect this movie: the gravity of this novel should not be diminished.
