Somewhat reminiscent of the work of Terry Gilliam, Borowczyk and Marker's masterful stop motion collaboration, Les Astronautes, is a film about traversing alternate realities via the realm of the imagination and battling the demons of
the mind.
In it, an inventor fashions a magical space craft out of old newspapers and some regular household knick knacks. Armed only with his pipe, a notebook, an umbrella, first aid kit (containing the elixir of immortality, which allows him to survive in space), clock, barrel of tomatoes, a few books, a suitcase, chest of clothes, and, of course (it wouldn't be a true Marker film without), his trusty owl sidekick.
He views the surrounding happenings through a periscope, which he first uses to voyeur a beautiful young woman; before he goes on to mess with a pandering politician (followed by a triumphant exit through the Arc de Triumphe portal); and a trip to the moon- during which he investigates it's "dark side"...leading him to face off against his internal demon.
Despite all this exploration of space- and his newfound discoveries- he simply cannot get the young woman out of his mind. It's just not the same up there without her. So he plans to return to Earth...but not before he saves a small red rocket- called SPA- from certain destruction, during a dogfight among the stars.
His decision to return to reality inevitably does destroy SPA, so he uses his umbrella to parachute back to the roof of his house.
Did he really travel through space and time? Or was it all just a dream?...his head among the clouds...
7 out of 10.
