I'm not much of a fan of fantasy. A friend, however, brought this film to my attention because he said he couldn't get the story out of his head, and made further comments that piqued my curiosity.
Well, it didn't kill me to see the film and I'm happy to say that it was worth my time – for a number of reasons. First, the mise-en-scene is quite imaginative with absolutely surreal environments that I think owe a lot to the imagery of Monty Python; nothing wrong in copying – everybody does it, anyway.
Second, it's a fairly simple story about the oppression and exploitation of the masses in a fantastic society somewhere in the cosmos. To that extent, it's an allegory for any situation that results in a clash between opposing cultures, different societies and so on. It's given a new slant here, though, by portraying humanity – called the Oms – as the oppressed who are exploited by blue giants, known as the Traag. The plot follows the exploits of one male Om who, after learning all about the Traag, escapes from them to rouse the other Oms to mount a rebellion.
Finally, however, the most intriguing aspect about this film is the clear connection between it and other sci-fi and fantasy films. For example, the discordant sounds in this film are, I think, a direct copy of those I heard in The Forbidden Planet (1957). As noted already, the whole scenario owes much to the Monty Python TV series. And for sure, I think, James Cameron copied the idea of a giant tree sanctuary from this film for inclusion in his epic Avatar (2009). Cameron, of course, reversed the oppressed-oppressor roles of humanity and the blue giants for his story.
Moreover, here's a way-out thought: being a French production and seeing as how the French just love Hollywood westerns, I was amused to see the 'outlaw' Oms run for cover to a tiny hole in a wall – a long, blank, gigantic solid wall – much like how the real Butch Cassidy and his outlaws retreated to what was known as The Hole-in-the-Wall Gang hideout in the late nineteenth century. Too much of a stretch for you? Then think about why the writers here also included a Hollow Bush Gang of Oms who acted as enemies of the rebellious Oms in the Tree of Life sanctuary who wanted to escape from the Traag.
Actually, I also think that The Hollow Bush Gang is a metaphor for the Gang with No Brains, as you will see – in contrast to the rebellious Oms who figured out how to escape from Traag domination. Knowledge, after all, is power and so forth...
And, for something even more off the wall: long ago, Edgar Rice Burroughs (famous for Tarzan and others) wrote sci-fi stories about Mars. In one of those stories, there were headless humanoids that could function only when a head slithered into position between the shoulders. So watch for a brazen copy of that idea in this film.
I guess kids today would find the graphics and imagery quite rudimentary when compared to the current technology of mind-blowing CGI action. Too bad – their loss.
If you ever come across it on TV or on DVD, you could do lot worse with a couple of your hours, I guess. As a piece of cinema history, it is worth seeing; and I'm glad I did.
Give it seven stars for the imagery and overall effort.
January 26, 2012
Well, it didn't kill me to see the film and I'm happy to say that it was worth my time – for a number of reasons. First, the mise-en-scene is quite imaginative with absolutely surreal environments that I think owe a lot to the imagery of Monty Python; nothing wrong in copying – everybody does it, anyway.
Second, it's a fairly simple story about the oppression and exploitation of the masses in a fantastic society somewhere in the cosmos. To that extent, it's an allegory for any situation that results in a clash between opposing cultures, different societies and so on. It's given a new slant here, though, by portraying humanity – called the Oms – as the oppressed who are exploited by blue giants, known as the Traag. The plot follows the exploits of one male Om who, after learning all about the Traag, escapes from them to rouse the other Oms to mount a rebellion.
Finally, however, the most intriguing aspect about this film is the clear connection between it and other sci-fi and fantasy films. For example, the discordant sounds in this film are, I think, a direct copy of those I heard in The Forbidden Planet (1957). As noted already, the whole scenario owes much to the Monty Python TV series. And for sure, I think, James Cameron copied the idea of a giant tree sanctuary from this film for inclusion in his epic Avatar (2009). Cameron, of course, reversed the oppressed-oppressor roles of humanity and the blue giants for his story.
Moreover, here's a way-out thought: being a French production and seeing as how the French just love Hollywood westerns, I was amused to see the 'outlaw' Oms run for cover to a tiny hole in a wall – a long, blank, gigantic solid wall – much like how the real Butch Cassidy and his outlaws retreated to what was known as The Hole-in-the-Wall Gang hideout in the late nineteenth century. Too much of a stretch for you? Then think about why the writers here also included a Hollow Bush Gang of Oms who acted as enemies of the rebellious Oms in the Tree of Life sanctuary who wanted to escape from the Traag.
Actually, I also think that The Hollow Bush Gang is a metaphor for the Gang with No Brains, as you will see – in contrast to the rebellious Oms who figured out how to escape from Traag domination. Knowledge, after all, is power and so forth...
And, for something even more off the wall: long ago, Edgar Rice Burroughs (famous for Tarzan and others) wrote sci-fi stories about Mars. In one of those stories, there were headless humanoids that could function only when a head slithered into position between the shoulders. So watch for a brazen copy of that idea in this film.
I guess kids today would find the graphics and imagery quite rudimentary when compared to the current technology of mind-blowing CGI action. Too bad – their loss.
If you ever come across it on TV or on DVD, you could do lot worse with a couple of your hours, I guess. As a piece of cinema history, it is worth seeing; and I'm glad I did.
Give it seven stars for the imagery and overall effort.
January 26, 2012