The Emergence of Soviet Science Fiction Cinema and Aelita

The film "The Queen of Mars" (Aelita), directed by Yakov Protazonov in 1924, is a testament to this legacy.

and

Oct 21, 2023

While Russian science fiction cinema, often associated with filmmakers and their works during the Soviet era, is recognized for its fantastical elements, its roots go back about a decade before the USSR was formed, with its foundations firmly embedded in the Russian Empire. A pivotal moment in this journey came in 1912 when Ladislas Starevich directed "The Beautiful Leukanida" (Prekrasnaya Lyukanida, Ili Vojna Rogachej I Usachej), marking the inaugural foray into this genre as the first puppet animation film with fantastical themes. Consider that during the 196-year span of the Russian Empire (1721-1917), the empire gave rise to many influential writers and artists. It's evident that the artistic movements in the USSR (such as Russian Cinema, Modern Russian Art, and Literature) were a continuation of this rich heritage. As with any country that values art, each new generation would build upon the achievements of its predecessors, navigating a path of evolution through inspiration. This journey would involve wrestling with political will and bureaucracy, as seen in most art-loving nations.

This struggle, while non-physical in nature, allowed the state's restrictive apparatus to potentially intervene at any point. However, respect was generally granted to those who fought for their art rather than those who imposed censorship. The creative consciousness in the Soviet Union was acutely aware of the artistic power left behind by the dismantled empire, and this awareness continued to shape the evolution of the arts.

Reflecting on the films created by Soviet directors during their era, one can trace their sources of inspiration back to the education provided by the Russian Empire and the literary, artistic, and scientific minds that it nurtured. The film "The Queen of Mars" (Aelita), directed by Yakov Protazonov in 1924, is a testament to this legacy. Alexei Tolstoy, the author of the novel "Aelita," had already laid the intellectual foundations for this artistic movement prior to the establishment of the USSR. His 1907 book of poetry, "Lirika," and the sixteen short stories he wrote played a pivotal role in shaping the pre-Soviet consciousness. The production of this film coincided with Lenin's implementation of the "New Economic Policy" between 1921 and 1923, which aimed to revitalize the post-war Russian economy.

This film's unique origins are marked by an intriguing start—a coded message that read "Anta... OdELI... Uta..." transmitted to radio stations worldwide. The message's global circulation was conveyed through the accounts of the Japanese, Arabs, and Russians. Although the content of the message remained a mystery, Los, a dreamer and bourgeois figure in charge of the Moscow Radio Station, claimed it was from Mars. Simultaneously, Mars was governed by Tuskup, the planetary ruler, and the ruling class known as the "Great Ones" under a totalitarian regime. The planet's labor class was confined to cold storage when not needed.

Gol, one of the Martian rulers, invented a giant telescope to observe life on nearby planets, and this is how Aelita discovered Los. Los became obsessed with the idea that Aelita was watching him. His problems didn't end there; due to a fit of jealousy, he ended up killing his wife and was pursued by a detective. On the brink of madness, he assumed the identity of engineer Spiridonov, with whom he worked at the radio station, and built a spaceship. Together with the revolutionary Gusev, Los landed on Mars, where they were imprisoned by the Martian "Great Ones." With Aelita's help, they became leaders of a proletarian uprising on the planet. Aelita, aspiring to lead the revolution, continued to rule the planet with an iron fist after her father, Tuskup. Los, who experienced a great shock and betrayal, embarked on a new struggle to stop Aelita. Confused between reality and imagination, Los finally discovered what was real and woke up from his dream. Waking up at a train station, he thought he had really killed his wife, Natasha, but he relaxed when he realized it was all a dream. The film concluded with the dialogue, "This much imagination is enough; there's a lot of work to do."

Aelita's creation story was quite distinct. It began with a remarkable newspaper advertisement in Soviet newspapers, and the advertising campaign, which began on February 26, 1924, continued with the coded message "Anta... OdELI... Uta..." without any explanation until April 15. After this date, an explanatory text was added to the campaign, stating that "Radio stations around the world started receiving strange signals." In the lead-up to the film's premiere, a promotion company affiliated with the Bolshevik newspaper Pravda, founded by Lev Trotsky, would rearrange this mysterious message and broadcast it as "Anta... OdELI... Uta..." during the same period. Simultaneously, the cinema magazine Kinogazeta would headline a story, "The message has finally been deciphered, and the mystery will be solved at the Ars Cinema, where the film's gala will take place very soon."

To heighten audience anticipation, the Ars Cinema was transformed into a Mars Palace with Ancient Egyptian and Cubist designs. This film garnered so much interest that the director, Protazanov, couldn't attend the gala. Despite months of effort, the distributors divided the film into two parts due to its feature length (113 minutes), which resulted in a loss of audience interest. The first part failed to capture the audience's attention, and the long introductory segment before transitioning to the second part only caused delays. As a result, hardly anyone watched the second part.

American science fiction author Frederick Pohl, famous for his 1977 book "Gateway" and his editorship of If magazine, would leave this legendary note about Aelita: "Despite all its shortcomings, Aelita is undoubtedly one of the best science fiction films in the history of silent cinema. It would take half a century for Soviet Science Fiction Cinema to present a work as compelling as Aelita, and that would be Andrei Tarkovsky's 1972 film "Solaris."