Rusta - Planet der Tränen

Intelligent, sensible and original sci-fi movie set in the distant year of 3040 A.D. which tells the story of a young and proud doctor who is sent to a distant planet called Rustia to make his residence there. In this planet, divided between two sides, The Clear Side and The Dark Side, the doctor learns with his mentor Dr. Akada (Winfield in a great performance) about love, compassion and tenderness. Good scenario and impressive performances makes this one a winner.

To see why Bruce Wagner is, with Lem Dobbs, the most under-utilized writing talent in movies, see this humble Fox movie of his vaultingly ambitious sci-fi script--a mix of Jacobean fright, fairy tale and fifties, Fantastic Planet hokum that has more brains and bursting imagination in any given five minutes than the life work of George Lucas. The direction is flattish and the budget isn't up to Wagner's sumptuous vision, but the seeds of magnificence are everywhere visible.

As indicated by others, excellent, original ideas... it could have been worth watching as a movie or a series, if one didn't mind overlooking the absurd blend of technologies - and I don't.

Characters have the usual fascination with recent (to us) history & literature for their allusions, but that's the curse of mediocre sci-fi. Well, that was too harsh, a few contemporary references are fun, but please...every quote by the hero shouldn't be from the period 1000 to 1150 years before the story's setting.

Alas, though...characters, at least the human ones, were absolute caricatures. Diverse, though...from the scale of travel & events we see, Rustia's not exactly huge, yet over here we have a dissipated Roman emperor-type complete with crown of laurels, over here a medieval king with the inevitable princess for our smarmy hero. Ah yes, and the sort-of orphan boy in too-short pants.

There were some good acting performances, notably Paul Winfield's Akada of course, and also surprisingly (given their minor roles) the two settlers, parents of the twins. Ah, forgotten their names, but their bath scene was the best in the film. I do mean because of the believability and sympathy, not for the more prurient reason. :)

Some shone less brightly - sadly this includes the aforementioned hero, whose apparent charm & magnetism for every inhabitant of Rustia could be used as the definition of "revealed attribute". There must have been something about him, as everyone loved him... yet... what could it have been? His early arrogance? His smirk? Oh, his smooth tongue... which brings us to...

The writing - and I apologize to those who rave about how Bruce Wagner is underrated, but the dialogue was about what I'd expect from someone in grade seven. Perhaps it was written for kids of about nine to twelve, and the writers figured the kids wouldn't be picky? Original ideas, yes, wonderful...but they were let down by the uncreative lines the actors were saddled with. I don't mean that the script needed more big words. In fact, a bit of medical technobabble in the clinic was quite good for that sort of thing, and delivered well. No, that sort of thing isn't necessary for good sci-fi...it's just that it's as if the dialogue was written in an afternoon. No spark at all.

I was optimistic, then annoyed, then sad...interesting, bizarre, slightly off-kilter feel to the whole movie (good!), but shoddy, often cliche design of characters & dialogue poisoned it.

This "movie" (actually a pilot for a never-produced series, I believe) is one of the more original science fiction concepts to see production in years. The story is of a young medical student in the distant future, fulfilling his internship on a planet that is so far removed from everything that its inhabitants live a largely technology-free lifestyle. The planet is divided into two halves that are often at war, and as we join the story it is just entering into a tenuous peace.

White Dwarf is part futuristic science fiction, part Victorian/medieval fantasy, and part television drama (having many of the best qualities of each). With many such stories, we get no sense of history or depth to the characters, but with this one we are not let down. We are given fleeting glimpses of deeper things (only glimpses at times because, one might presume, it was written to continue as a series, to establish relationships to be developed further as time went on). There are hints of vast histories for the characters, the places, and the ideas the underlie so much of the story. A fine example of this would be the apparently long-standing and deep relationship between Osh, alien warden of "the Keep" (the planet's prison), and the prisoner listed only as "Lady X" in the credits (played by Katy Boyer).

My only complaints about White Dwarf would be with the sometimes stiff acting and the occasional stilted dialogue (when combined, as they normally are, the two can be difficult to take). Still, special accolades should go to Paul Winfield for his portrayal of Akada, the doctor under whom Driscoll Rampart serves his internship, and CCH Pounder, who plays a nurse in Akada's clinic. Both portray their characters with generous portions of substance and apparent ease. The rest of the cast do reasonably well, only occasionally stumbling over the stilted dialogue. This is most noticeable with Ele Keats' performance as Princess Ariel, whose dialogue is always very formal, resulting in a performance that comes across very wooden. For the few of her lines that are more relaxed, her performance improves, serving mostly to emphasize the stiffness that we see the rest of the time. Perhaps this just isn't her genre.

Perhaps the greatest tragedy is that this unique piece of work is no longer available on video (unless you're willing to pay $50 or more for a used VHS copy). This is rare and inspired fiction, a must for anyone who's growing tired of the recycled ideas we see so often, and who wishes to see something distinctly different, if somewhat imperfect. As a life-long sci-fi and fantasy afficionado, I consider myself very lucky to have acquired a copy, and enjoy every viewing as much as the last. We can only hope that it will be released on DVD someday, and that it will not be doomed to disappear forever into obscurity. Something this unique deserves far better than that.

I really liked this movie. I think because it was on TV I didn't expect it to be as good as if it had been a larger production. I would like to see it again because the weak plot lost me in several places. Still, it was good entertainment and heck it was free.