Knowing the backstory sometimes affects the way a film is viewed and reviewed. Under the best of circumstances, judging a work by an objective merit can be difficult in the best of times. Watching Andrzej Zulawawski’s On The Silver Globe will put any moviegoer to the test. The Polish auteur’s famed science fiction started production in 1976, the government ordered a stoppage, after 10 years shooting resumed in 1987 with added footage.
This film has been on my must watch list for long time. No Spoilers Review
Based on a series of books by the director’s grand uncle, Jerzy Zulawski published in 1903, On The Silver Globe is not the usual sci fi story centering on robots, gadgets, space flight, technology or special effects but rather religion, social commentary and politics set on a distant planet in the future. Two astronauts living the ruins of what looks like a dilapidated palace are given an object from a native tribesman. It is a video diary of astronauts from a previous expedition.
The next expedition arrives with a space traveler, named Malek, who the natives believe is a God. War starts with other beings on the planet. The so called “Promised One” is revealed to be a fake.
Effortless is not in this production vocabulary. The visuals are point and center. Zulawawski takes viewers on a brutal ride of startling cinematography. Camera angles that tunnel the landscape and jarring close ups. Using what should be soothing landscapes, the filmmaker created a world of faithful unease. While the script and characters seemed almost Shakespearean, the veiled political critique came across, even if set on a fictional terra.
Sadly, politics interfered in On The Silver Globe’s path to greatness. At times maddening, while other times on the brink of brilliant, the 166 minutes is incredibly interesting.
On The Silver Globe premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1988.
4.0/5 stars.