Aelita | A silent film by Yakov Protazanov | SU 1924

Alexei Tolstoy’s novella of the same name served as the basis for Yakov Protazanov’s film AELITA. In 1921, towards the end of the Russian Civil War, the country is in dire straits: many people are on the run, food is scarce, and the political situation remains uncertain. Against this backdrop, a radio station under the direction of the protagonist, Loss, receives a mysterious radio message: “Anta Odeli Uta.” Mocked and dismissed by the military and his colleagues, Loss is certain it must be a message from Mars.

While Loss becomes engrossed in deciphering the message, a parallel storyline unfolds in a futuristic society on Mars. Queen Aelita employs cunning to gain access to an apparatus that allows her to observe life on Earth. Fascinated by the possibility of tracing the sender of the enigmatic signal, Loss begins developing plans to build a spaceship. Meanwhile, his marriage disintegrates under the strain of the times, and subplots reveal the personal hardships of the revolutionary years. Finally, his flight to Mars succeeds, and the slave-owning Martian society is swept into the revolutionary fervor. Is Loss a direct participant in these events, or was it all a daydream?

AELITA’s aesthetics were deeply influenced by the visual arts of its era. Its costumes and sets, inspired by constructivism and suprematism, became genre-defining for early futuristic and science fiction films and theater productions. The costumes were designed by the artist Alexandra Exter.

The Vienna Improvisers Orchestra, under the direction of Michael Fischer, enveloped this cinematic milestone in a densely textured soundscape.

With a recording of the Vienna Improvisers Orchestra from the REAKTOR cinema on 15 December 2018, in cooperation with Bösendorfer.