directed by Jindøich Polák, science-fiction, 88 min, eng subtitles
written by Jindøich Polák, Pavel Juráèek
with Zdenìk Štìpánek, Radovan Lukavský, Dana Medøická, Miroslav Macháèek
It is the second half of the 22nd century. The Ikarie XB 1 spaceship is on its way to Alfa Centauri to search for extra-terrestrial life. Its crew of scientists, far from home, faces unknown dangers… The stylistically refined fictional world of a distant future is brought to life through Kališ’s black and white shots in a wide screen format and Liška’s innovative electronic music, as well as the iconic set pieces and costumes. In addition, the matter-of-fact performance style employed by the best Czechoslovak actors of the time adds a natural feel while also providing a psychological layer to it. The scriptwriters drew some of their inspiration from a novel by Stanis³aw Lem called The Magellanic Cloud. It is also worth mentioning that they resisted the politicization that sci-fi films of that time were frequently subjected to which often made them fairly superficial. Instead of pitting two rival systems against one another, thus creating an obvious East versus West dichotomy, they portray the hope for a better, morally more advanced humankind in place of the “riff raff” of the 20th century, who left nothing but disasters in their wake. The film is believed to be a major inspiration for Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey as well as Tarkovsky’s Solaris, Star Trek, etc. The new digitally restored version was presented this year at Cannes IFF.
Awards:
Trieste Fantastic Film Festival 1963 (Best film)
Cannes IFF 2016 (Cannes Classics)