One-man show

Original title: Moon
Country: United Kingdom
Genre: fiction, drama, thriller, detective
Directed by: Duncan Jones
Cast: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey
Premiere: January 23, 2009
Budget: $ 5 million
Running time: 97 minutes

In this age of total computerization of cinema pure sci-fi, not intended to entertain the viewer infinite-paced action scenes so juicy explosions fit already recorded in the Red Book. Entertainment and a beautiful picture - all of this, of course, wonderful, especially when seasoned with sensible plot. But sometimes the overabundance of running around the adventures still tired. Then the soul is looking for stories of more peaceful, ordinary in shape and at the same time unusual in content. As if trying to satisfy this particular request to fans of fantasy, the British director Duncan Jones took his first tape, which in our area is known as "Luna 2112".

Operator lunar base Sam Bell works off a three-year contract, controlling production of the isotope helium-3. This substance is essential for earthlings, because in his time it has saved the planet from the fuel crisis. The process of extraction of valuable source of energy looks very funny: the wheels on the lunar expanses wonderful form harvester and sucks from the lunar surface sand. Neither give nor take - harvester in the extraction of Spice of "Dune 2"! Curiously, while shooting scenes outside the base cost without a computer special effects in principle. Here were engaged exclusively miniature models of equipment. And that was enough to ensure a realistic event.

It is realistic and captivating film. No alien monsters, and unseen monsters! In the center of the story - a man alone with his loneliness. Only a robot assistant is to keep him company, skrashivaya his drab existence. Yes rare conversations with their relatives. But once Sam is an accident, from which he rescues a man like him as two drops of water. In clarifying the relationship between them and the search for an answer to the question "who is whose clone is held by the remaining part of the film.

Another advantage of the film - an impressive actor playing Sam Rockwell, who laid out in the literal sense, for ten. Moreover, he had to portray two Semov Bello (and very different in nature!) Simultaneously, so more had to be almost constantly in the frame. For all the other characters are only sporadic and occur only in the video feed during a communication session with the Earth.

The ideological component "of the Moon 2112" - a serious life and times of human clones in the distant future - is not new and does not possess originality. However, its realization, from which breathes the atmosphere of good old retrofantastiki in the spirit of short stories by Isaac Asimov and Clifford Simak, inadvertently makes off his hat to the director. And let the background of "Solaris" and "Space Odyssey" this film looks a second time, but today no one else takes off, dammit!

One actor, a couple of miniature modelek and decorations - just as much as you need to depict a closed room. Minimalism "Moon 2112" on the background of a riot of colors "Avatar" seems a bold challenge to tradition, the bold experiment that could prove important - even with a minimum budget, you can remove the hard science-fiction movie!

Fantastic Arthouse

Original title: Welt am Draht
Country: Germany
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Genre: fiction, thriller, detective, drama
Premiere: October 14, 1973
Budget: 950 000 DEM
Running time: 205 minutes

Many fans of quality kinofantastiki certainly are familiar with the film "The Thirteenth Floor" Joseph Rusnak, who went into the rental time with the legendary "The Matrix" and remained at its background virtually unnoticed. Based on the original, the book of Daniel Francis Gelui "Simulakron-3", he narrated a very advanced simulator virtual reality, inhabited by programs that simulate human behavior with a high degree of similarity. Less well known is the fact that this film is the second adaptation of the novel Gelui. The first was shot in the distant 1973, under the leadership of director arthouse cinema of Rainer Fassbinder.

"World on a Wire" is little known outside of Germany. The reason was the lack of clarity in copyright, because of which the film has never had either on tape or on CD, or on DVD. Do not "roll of" it in cinemas, because originally was "locked up" under the TV format. But even on TV it showed very rare, and only the sale of copies to foreign channels and did it not go! So this two-part film - very ekoticheskaya bird in our area. Russian-speaking actors, Welt am Draht never made public. Find it could so far only on a torrent, at best, with the original voice acting and Russian subtitles. Fortunately, recently the situation with the right to permit, and February 18, 2010 scheduled release a double disc DVD-restored version of the picture. So far, only, again, in Germany. And before you know it, and a full Russian language edition coming soon!

Despite the commonality of the plot and the presence of similar plot turns, "World on a Wire" to "The Thirteenth Floor" is like very little. Hollywood version - is, first of all, genre cinema, it focused on action, detective line and dive into the characters they have created a virtual reality. The film is Fassbinder - Film copyright, not fettered genre framework, and therefore mass audience may seem rather dull spectacle. His characters are not worn one after another, brandishing pistols, and most screen time are intimate conversations among themselves. The main character moves Simulakron only twice, and then only for a short time. Dialogues, actor and game hanging in the air the question "What is happening?" - These are three pillars on which rests "World on a Wire. For them it is definitely worth watching.

Institute of Cybernetics and futurology has created a revolutionary supercomputer - Simulakron, with which you can simulate entire worlds and populate them with artificial persons. Triumph scientists darkened the sudden death of the technical director of the Institute Henri Follmera and strange disappearance security chief, Gunter Lausen. Last literally melted in air at a party where he saw a lot of people! The new director of the Institute, Fred Sztyller trying to understand what happened, but suddenly encountered a new problem: no one remembers the existence of Lausen, and generally more than five years, his position is entirely different person!

Around the emotional ravings of Fred Sztyller and built the whole story. Klaus Levich, who played his role brilliantly managed to pass the state and the emotions of a man caught in a very delicate situation: either he was crazy, or, conversely, all flocking round the reel? Other actors of his game as something not particularly impressive, but one Levich more than compensate inexpressiveness all others. However, as any emotion can be expected from people who play the officials, academics and businessmen in their normal working environment?

Fassbinder film is also interesting that not only concentrates on one technical aspect of the theme of virtual reality, but also affects the philosophical aspects of the human mind and attitude. Together with an intricate plot, which, in addition to a global Mystery, a place, and social, and romantic component, viewers are introduced to a very curious glances of the ancient Greek philosophers. And one of the scenes and did a five-point illustration of Plato's doctrine of "ideas".

From today's perspective is quite interesting and looks even more reluctant Fred Sztyller Simulakron exploit for commercial purposes. The protagonist of "thirteenth floor" worked in a computer corporation, so there is the question: to sell or not the results of their labor, not even standing. Here the action takes place in public institutions. And according to its creators, Simulakron must be used exclusively for the benefit of society, but does not serve the interests of a narrow group of individuals. Such is the theme of troubled director and society in the seventies of last century.

Against the backdrop of modern science fiction films, literally saturated the action, "World on a Wire" stands out for its ordinariness and this, perhaps, it seems even more convincing. See it is if only so that he is the first in the history of cinema film about virtual reality. In Fassbinder filmography as he also occupies a unique place - it is his only painting in the genre of science fiction with elements of social drama.