“The film is enjoyable for its intimacy, seriousness, and intelligent character work, virtues not perpetuated by the subsequent new wave.”
Screened in tribute to Douglas Trumball (1942 - 2022)
After the end of all botanical life on Earth, ecologist Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern) maintains a greenhouse on a space station in order to preserve various plants for future generations. Assisted by three robots (Huey, Dewey and Louie) and a small human crew, Lowell rebels when he is ordered to destroy the greenhouse in favour of carrying cargo, a decision that puts him at odds with everyone but his mechanical companions.
Douglas Trumbull was a special effects supervisor who worked on such films as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Blade Runner and The Tree of Life. His directorial debut, Silent Running, is a cult classic and a unique example of ecological sci-fi (with fitting musical contributions from Joan Baez).
