Aelita (1924)
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Aelita Movie Review
Aelita is a 1924 Russian silent science fiction film directed by Yakov Protazanov. It is a pretty respectable early genre flick which is visually appealing and intriguing.
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“You are so charming. How could you be so cruel?“
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The plot itself is overall serviceable, if somewhat silly at certain times. It is the kind of unrealistic, more fantastical, fairy tale like sci-fi flick which reminded me more of the works of George Melies than ‘Metropolis’ which is why it did not endure as much as that film did.
But still the film works for what it is which is a fun romp. The sci-fi elements are more interesting than the dramatic ones, but thankfully we get both of those in almost equal measure. I liked the characters and the actors all did a good job, but nobody stands out particularly with the exception of Queen Aelita herself who’s so memorable and interesting.
Aelita excels visually speaking. The acting is strong and the dialogue is mostly very good as is the use of intertitles. Yakov Protazanov directed the film so well and he imbued it with a lot of style and charm. But the highlights are the cinematography which is frequently striking and quite impressionable. The various alien imagery is intriguing, the atmosphere is so well conveyed here and the costume design is particularly magnificent.
That’s why the film aged pretty well. It is iconic even in its costumes and highly effective in establishing this different civilization on Mars and their leadership. The social drama aspect is solid, but not my favorite. The sci-fi elements are much better and naturally the romance is quite appealing.
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I could definitely see that Aelita was based on a book which is evident from its abundant level of detail and that was great to witness. Emotionally speaking, the film is effective in certain scenes and the dialogue is solid, but I wanted a bigger impact in terms of storytelling as none of its scenes linger for too much and it needed more conflict for sure. But still, it’s a solid early sci-fi flick which should be respected more for being one of the first of its type in feature films.
Aelita is definitely not ‘Metropolis’ as it is not a serious science fiction film, but more a fantastical one and a pretty good early genre effort. The dramatic elements are overwhelming, but the sci-fi is pretty memorable as is the romance. The highlights are its striking imagery, highly memorable costumes and solid atmosphere and world building.
