I was initially somewhat puzzled watching this, noticing that that main titles were in Polish, the actors were speaking Russian, and the signs were all in English. It was in fact a co-production of Poland and Soviet Estonia, and its setting in the ambiguous West (complete with strip club and McDoanld's) lend it a cosmopolitan feel and verisimilitude to the idea of huge business interests being at work in backing or opposing the space flight that the plot centers around.
I haven't read the original story by Slatinslaw Lem. The concept of a human leading a robot crew is interesting, though the execution of the element of mystery around who is a robot and who is not ends up seeming somewhat contrived. Overall, even though the acting and cinematography are good, it ends up seeming somehow without much dramatic tension, which is not good considering how much potential there is for it in the premise.
There are a lot of scenes of negotiations for Pirx to take on the job, expository scenes about the robots, shots of scenery, et cetera -- and it somehow ends up less involving that it could be. When a robot crewman finally laves a threatening message, it doesn't have have the impact it could for not having been built-up-to with many solid dramatic events.
I was surprised to see that the famous composer Arvo Part, perhaps the most notably Estonian element. It doesn't have heaps of the minimalism he would be later known for, but it is an excellent score.
In all a fairly ambitious and interesting-shot film with an interesting concept, but that concept isn't fully explored and the dramatic tension remains at a fairly lowish level.
I haven't read the original story by Slatinslaw Lem. The concept of a human leading a robot crew is interesting, though the execution of the element of mystery around who is a robot and who is not ends up seeming somewhat contrived. Overall, even though the acting and cinematography are good, it ends up seeming somehow without much dramatic tension, which is not good considering how much potential there is for it in the premise.
There are a lot of scenes of negotiations for Pirx to take on the job, expository scenes about the robots, shots of scenery, et cetera -- and it somehow ends up less involving that it could be. When a robot crewman finally laves a threatening message, it doesn't have have the impact it could for not having been built-up-to with many solid dramatic events.
I was surprised to see that the famous composer Arvo Part, perhaps the most notably Estonian element. It doesn't have heaps of the minimalism he would be later known for, but it is an excellent score.
In all a fairly ambitious and interesting-shot film with an interesting concept, but that concept isn't fully explored and the dramatic tension remains at a fairly lowish level.