Fantastic Planet (Le Planèt Sauvage)

Sindri

This is a Czech new wave animated sci-fi film called Fantastic Planet. It's really trippy and has cool prog rock soundtrack. It's sets on another planet where humans are kept as pets by these alien creatures or live wild barbarian lives but are always under threat of 'deomisation' or extermination. Humans are known as oms and the main character is called Ter. Both are derived from French and respectively are from 'Hommes' for man and 'Terre' for earth.

It's based on a novel called Oms en Série. It's in French with subtitles or there is an English dubbed version. I've seen both and if you're watching it the first time I'd go for the English one as it's easier to follow. It was on Sky Arts recently as well. It's only 72 minutes long and was released in 1973.

It is supposedly an allegory of the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia. It was made in France because of this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgCxCZNkQ9E

It is a good film and it is mad trippy. The soundtrack is like listening to Pink Floyd. The animation is original is very artful even if the backgrounds can be dull and generic. Most importantly though the animation, although rigid, is very expressive in its own rigid way and it really works and suits the content and subject matter in the manner in which they approach it. The only real criticisms of it would be that the animation is also very dull in that it's not vibrant and it's very sluggish and paced but as I said it works if you let it. It's definitely one to watch if you like being spaced out.

Sindri

Sorry can a mod move this to the Film forum please when you get a chance?


Thanks

Konata

Moved to Film Reviews

Sad Professor

And moved to Films.

Konata

Sowwy >_< I thought it was a review.

Skerries

watched this about 15 years ago and remember it being some weird fecked up shít alright

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

i watched it last year after kermode talked about it in one of his blog posts. strange and strangely enjoyable. I dont think I could point to anything I really liked about it.... but I've still watched it twice. just one of those movies I guess.

mike65

I have the soundtrack but have never seen the film, the director went on to do something else very ambitious which never got made if I recall right.