Sunday 8 January 2012

Silent Running

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Year:1972
Country of origin:USA / UK
Director:Douglas Trumbull
Genre:Eco-sci-fi wonder
Starring: Bruce Dern, Cliff Potts, Ron Rifkin, Jesse Vint
Rating:5/5
IMDB link:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067756/
Tagline:Amazing companions on an incredible adventure... that journeys beyond imagination!
Favourite line:"Look on the wall behind you. Look at that little girl's face. I know you've seen it. But you know what she's never going to be able to see? She's never going to be able to see the simple wonder of a leaf in her hand. Because theres not going to be any trees. Now you think about that."

Douglas Trumbull's sci-fi tale Silent Running is a thing of utter beauty.

Bruce Dern plays Freeman Lowell, one of four aboard a spacecraft called Valley Forge, one of a number of vessels that house the last vegetation surviving from an Earth stripped bare of plantlife. To the other three crewmen, the task of looking after the flora is a chore, but to Lowell it is a passion. He is the only one amongst them who eats what he grows, foregoing the dried rations supplied by The Company, much to the amusement of his workmates.
Suddenly, a message comes in, advising them that they must destroy the forest.
Lowell refuses, opting instead to kill his three colleagues (well, fair enough) and turn to the robot drones on board for assistance in nurturing his beloved forest.

And it's stunning.
Lowell's decent into mania is startling, and the whole effort is tinged with melancholy. There's hope, too, though of the bitter sweet variety, all accompanied by a rousing, prog infused soundtrack that brings a lump to the throat.
The action level is set to zero as this is a movie about concepts and thoughts, not loud explosions or laser battles, so if you are the kind of slack-jawed dimwit who found Transformers even remotely entertaining, best you avoid.
Loved this more than I can actually find the words for and, without question, this is a movie all should see.
Simply wonderful.

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