Ostensibly shut down in 1977 because the production was going over budget Andrzej Żuławski's epic soon gained cult status as an unfinished masterpiece. Adapted from (his great-uncle) Jerzy Żuławski’s influential The Lunar Trilogy (only recently available in English) its turbulent history has generated numerous myths and documentaries seeking to explain it. Always uncompromising, the futuristic labyrinthine narrative explores the dangers of polarised politics and observes a new society growing on an alien planet.
Now available in its restored form with striking, often violent images (made more impactful by the often feverish hand held shooting style) and powerful music by regular collaborator Andrzej Korzyński it can be seen as the philosophical exploration of the true nature of mankind that Żuławski intended. The repeated breaking of the fourth wall is a stylistic device fit not only for the sci-fi narrative (footage is missing from the astronauts mission) but also for the particular history of this production, with the director himself appearing on the streets of 1980s Warsaw to tell missing parts of the story-line.
