The Adventures of Elektronik: Soviet Sci-Fi with a Human Face
The Adventures of Elektronik: Soviet Sci-Fi with a Human Face
Going down the rabbit hole.
The other day, I decided to take a peek at the most famous children’s film of my childhood. When I was a kid, whenever this film was shown on TV, every girl in my building stopped whatever she were doing, and we all went to the apartment of that one girl whose parents had a color TV. And then the entire crowd sat in front of the screen, mesmerized.
The film (The Adventures of Elektronik) is about two boys: a human boy and his twin, a robot. The Soviet film makers have managed to turn a robot tale into a kind philosophical story about free will, the meaning of life, and what it means to be human (and how any attempt to “outsource” one’s life to machines backfires).
I ended up rewatching the entire film in one sitting. Some parts of it feel very strange to me today, after spending my entire adult life in the West. But it brought back the camaraderie, the purity of friendships, and the overall randomness of life.
I hope you like it. The film consists of three episodes, and I found the version that has English subtitles.
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Back in the days of black and white TV, there was an American Sci-Fi weekly program titled Robby the Robot. As TV ratings increased, the Toy industry produced a battery operated toy version of “Robby the Robot.” The toy Robot became a very popular Christmas gift. I don’t remember what year it was, I opened my Christmas gift from Santa Clause, a brand new Robby the Robot.
Merry Christmas everyone…..and a Happy New Robot.
For some reason, the Elektronik-movie reminded me less of technocracy -- presented in too cute a way for me to feel alarmed; perhaps the 'robotics' felt more human(e) than crude propaganda or cartoon-style renderings of all things Sovjet would. I couldn't wrap my head/heart around why that was. The scenes were OK, although separate from the storyline: what on earth is the maker of this movie really trying to get across (it sure was something)?
Then I watched "The brothers Lionheart" by Astrid Lindgren (I must have seen the filmversion long ago; I know i read it several times). Although the nostalgia- or innocence-factor, comraderie etc in both works are faintly similar, I understood via this detour why the Brothers L moved me more than Elektronik, entertaining as it was, ever could.
Was "Elektronik" a controversial movie back in the USSR? Much as I tried, I couldn't assess this movie's overall intention. I recall the Astrid Lindgren book stiired a lot of indignation in 'free' Europe: the 'sorceress of the North' was at it again:: 'Fancy luring kids to suicide...' Which is less of a 'talking point' now (to say the least). Looking back, I think Lindgren's uncompromising paian for freedom & courage was the real scandal to the psycho-babbling classes back then, not to mention the educational fraternity (and sorority) of all time (those who W. Gombrowich nicknamed 'cultural aunties', always on the prowl to spoil true instances of art and literature)..