J Riff
The Ants are my friends..
The Mysterious Wall 1967, Soviet, black and white, subtitled. We begin with a TV show, interviewing professors and people who might know stuff about the mysterious wall that has appeared, surrounding two geologists in a remote area, for two days. Then it disappears, reappears... it is like clouds w/ lightning bolts... impervious, deadly to humans, can't get through it, blocks radio waves. This is oddly like the 'shimmer' in a much more modren flick I just reviewed.. what was it? Uh.. doesn't matter, this is going to be better. These Russkies will figure this mystery wall out, wait and see. We hear tapes, the wall's background noise is theremin-based, as it keeps fading in and out at regular intervals.
These Sovs are sensible, even the TV people figure out the wall is some kind of ET station or base of some kind. It causes hallucinations, apparently. This movie has some smooth jazz that comes on now and then, it's nice.
Shlepov has been sent to tell Prof. Lomov to take time off, away from the wall. Locals claim it is built by Martians. They get there, uh-oh there's been an accident. A worker's hands got burnt, while trying to use a probe on the wall. Well, 53 minutes till the wall, actually a dome, appears. Now we are inside it with Lomov and a few others, in a cabin. lots talk of aliens, Martians.
Lots good dialogue in this, "what if the wall IS an alien?" Now our main scientist probes wall, sparks and fire, suddenly he's on a boat, in his own past, in the Yellow sea, saving a guy and a cat in a bathtub dinghy, dream sequence, the sailors go on about Martians.. and Strontium, how it's everywhere. more weirdness, cool music, the wall is messing with their heads.
Woo, this movie has just tripped right on out, and is somewhat surreal and hard to review now. Cool, soviet weirdness, proverbs, hallucinations or something, Lomov is inside it.. people there take what he says, enter it into some machines. It looks like maybe alien 'martian' contact is going to happen, via the wall.. but this movie ends, rather artistically and you have to wonder.
Quite a different and enjoyable 60s SF film, this is.
These Sovs are sensible, even the TV people figure out the wall is some kind of ET station or base of some kind. It causes hallucinations, apparently. This movie has some smooth jazz that comes on now and then, it's nice.
Shlepov has been sent to tell Prof. Lomov to take time off, away from the wall. Locals claim it is built by Martians. They get there, uh-oh there's been an accident. A worker's hands got burnt, while trying to use a probe on the wall. Well, 53 minutes till the wall, actually a dome, appears. Now we are inside it with Lomov and a few others, in a cabin. lots talk of aliens, Martians.
Lots good dialogue in this, "what if the wall IS an alien?" Now our main scientist probes wall, sparks and fire, suddenly he's on a boat, in his own past, in the Yellow sea, saving a guy and a cat in a bathtub dinghy, dream sequence, the sailors go on about Martians.. and Strontium, how it's everywhere. more weirdness, cool music, the wall is messing with their heads.
Woo, this movie has just tripped right on out, and is somewhat surreal and hard to review now. Cool, soviet weirdness, proverbs, hallucinations or something, Lomov is inside it.. people there take what he says, enter it into some machines. It looks like maybe alien 'martian' contact is going to happen, via the wall.. but this movie ends, rather artistically and you have to wonder.
Quite a different and enjoyable 60s SF film, this is.