Misiunea spatialã Delta

The launch of the intergalactic starship 'Delta' is disrupted when the highly sophisticated computer A. I. that controls the ship falls in obsessive love with Alma (voiced by Mirela Gorea-Chelaru), a beautiful, green-skinned reporter. Things get more complicated with the giant spherical vessel suddenly disappears and the lovelorn A. I. starts sending out robots to procure the verdant vamp (who is accompanied by 'Tin', her two-legged omnivorous space-pet). The film is fun, albeit not particularly sophisticated in story or execution. The animation is reminiscent of the old Krantz Films cartoons such as 'Rocket Robin Hood' (1966), most notably in the colourful abstract backgrounds, the imaginative but simplistic 'tech' designs, occasional inconsistencies in scale, recycling of footage (especially in the 'action sequences'), and overall lack of smoothness and precision when characters are moving. There is also a touch of early 'anime' style, primarily in the blurry way Tin moves when rushing from place to place. For a very basic animated character, Alma is surprisingly sexy in her form-fitting spacesuit and Tin's antics may amuse little kids but none of the rest of the characters are very interesting. The best parts of the story are when Alma is forced down on a hostile planet with a vibrant surreal background (that reminded me of 1960s sci-fi paperback covers) that is inhabited by nicely conceived very alien creatures. All-in-all, 'Delta Space Mission' is more interesting than entertaining (largely due to its Iron Curtain provenance) but still worth watching and oddly memorable (I'm starting to get what Kirk saw in green-skinned space babes). Streamed on Kanopy 06/24.

This film, with its simple script, does not lack charm. The graphic design is a little above the achievements of the Japanese series of the time, but clearly below Disney's standards. The atmosphere is somewhat dreamlike and childlike.

The story, linear, has some slowness, unnecessary repetitions and also some brutal accelerations of the scenarios. It borrows from Star Wars, 2001, The Space Odyssey, The Time Masters, ... all this in a gravity proper to the Russian anticipation cinema and on a very contemporary theme of Artificial Intelligence.

A curiosity for an evening that does not require intellectual overwork. 6.5/10.

Heavily influenced and at the same time mixed-up by everything in the sci-fi genre and animation preceding it (Forbidden Planet, Star Trek, 2001 and '10: Space Odysseys, Solaris & Star Wars, and Walt Disney & Lev Atamanov), Romania's second feature-length animation (: with a whole decade's interval from the first one) is a light, pass-the-time watching; impressive at times, for the colorful and beautifully painted backgrounds and highly detailed spaceships and engines, but lacks both depth and entertainment; depth, for it was realized under a suffocatingly authoritarian government; entertainment, for its creators' failure of focusing more on their characters' development and plot instead. Since they weren't allowed to take the open to interpretations, existentialist, philosophical approach the genre is inspiring, they shouldn't have brought down their characters into boring stereotypes constantly exchanging cliché orders and/or instructions. As I said, a light watching, but the only two conversations you could open about it afterwards would be either on its technical aspect, or on its place in the history of Romanian cinema, so you'd have to be either an animator, or a hardcore cinephile to take an interest.

It's not 2001 ... and yet it some sense it kind of is! No pun intended of course. And if you are going to add some flavor from another movie, it never hurts if that movie is a classic. HAL(LO) from the other side? Although are there sides in space? I'll let you find an answer to that.

Meanwhile we get an animated movie that is made for an audience that likes Science Fiction, that can think on their own. And add a love story that really ... is quite something! You know when "love" gets too much or too far ... it comes out the other side as they say. The animation is well done, though some may have issues with it I reckon.

Really well done overall - and short and sweet - played at a festival in the restored version. Nice soundtrack as well.