Test Pilota Pirxa

Pilot Pirx's Inquest
Testing Pilot Pirx / Doznanie Pilota Pirksa / Navigaator Pirx / Testpilot Pirx / Der Test des Piloten Pirx / Testflug zum Saturn

Poland/Soviet Union 1979
produced by
Zespol Filmowy, Tallinnfilm
directed by Marek Piestrak
starring Sergei Desnitsky, Boleslaw Abart, Vladimir Ivashov, Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy, Zbigniew Lesien, Tonu Saar, Ferdynand Matysik, Igor Przegrodzki, Zygmunt Bielawski, Janusz Bylczynski, Adam Cieslak, Edmund Fetting, Józef Fryzlewicz, Marek Idzinski, Mieczyslaw Janowksi, Faime Jurno, Z. Jurkowski, Jerzi Kaliszewski, Eugeniusz Kujawski, Ewa Lejczak, Erwin Nowiaszek
screenplay by Marek Piestrak, Vladimir Valutskiy, based on a story by Stanislaw Lem, music by Arvo Pärt

Pilot Pirx

review by
Mike Haberfelner

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Pilot Pirx (Sergei Desnitsky) is hired to fly a mission to Saturn, with a crew composed of humans and androids (Boleslaw Abart, Wladimir Ivashov, Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy, Zbigniew Lesien, Tonu Saar), but he's given no info who the androids are, and has to assess which crewmembers are better equipped to function in stress situations - a mission he only accepts after an attempt is made on his life.

Of course, during the trip he and everybody else try to figure out who are the humans and who are the androids, and Pirx doesn't believe the one crewmember, the ship's doctor (Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy) who actually admits to being a robot. Then when the crew tries to place a probe on the Saturn rings, something goes grossly wrong, and the crew almost crashes into the rings (not backed by actual science by the way), and in the process, the actual android (Zbigniew Lesien) gives himself away and is destroyed in the process. At least the ship and rest of the crew are saved though ...

Back on earth, Pirx himself is put to trial for the failure of the mission, and is only relieved when the ship's doctor - not an android after all - presents the android's blackbox as evidence that proves he has actually sabotaged the mission beforehands to kill all humans and prove the robots' superiority ...

Based on an intelligent story, Test Pilota Pirxa the movie just fails to make the cut - basically because it stretches the short story to feature film length and thus concentrates on the adventure rather than the message. Above this, Pirx is presented as an infallible, James Bond-style hero, which doesn't fit the story too well. Furthermore, the whole thing takes itself a bit too seriously.

That all said, the film isn't a complete disaster either, the directorial effort is subtle, the cast is competent, and some of the miniatures are just great (even if the miniature effects leave room for improvement). In all, it's certainly worth a look for a fan of vintage science fiction, but miles away from being great.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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