This is a delightful “feel good” film. (Silent Running (DVD))

Member Name: janeh

Product:	Silent Running (DVD)
Date:	30/08/01 (55 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Hewey, Lewey & Dewey, Sentimental, Final scene

Disadvantages: Poor human acting, Low budget

This film has to be one of my all time favourite SF films. Yes there are many other films which have bigger budgets, better effects and definitely better acting, but this is a classic.

Based on the idea that the earth is destroying itself and all its plant and animal life, a spaceship is sent – guess where, into space with huge greenhouse spheres containing different aspects of Earths flora and forna. A group of scientists and robot helpers are there to ensure all the animals are cared for and all the trees and plants watered etc.

After a while they get a message from Earth telling them to abort the mission. All the crew except one, played by Bruce Dern are delighted. Dern does not want to leave and refuses to jettison the greenhouses into space and eventual death. He murders the rest of the crew and he and the robots set about looking after the greenhouses together.

One of the most intriguing things about this film is Derns relationship with the three robots Hewey, Dewey and Lewey. Yes, I know they are only robots, but they are so cute and you really connect with them. When one of them has to go outside the ship to fix something, he gets his foot caught and even though Dern tries to help he “dies”. It’s so sad!

Dern now has to teach the two remaining robots how to look after the plants and animals, so that when he dies, they can carry on. He puts each one into the two remaining spheres and jettisons them into space, to supposedly live forever.

The final scene showing one of the robots, waddling around the sphere watering the plants with a background of haunting 70’s music is one not to be forgotten. It will be forever etched into my memory.

A truly delightful film.

Summary: