Aelita: Queen of Mars

Aelita: Queen of Mars (1924) — watch online on iFILM. Soviet director Yakov Protazanov adapts Alexei Tolstoy's 1923 novel, sending engineer Los to Mars in a rocket of his own construction. He's joined by Red Army soldier Gusev — who already plans to stage a Martian revolution — and a detective who suspects Los of killing his wife back on Earth.

Mars arrives as a constructivist stage set: angular costumes and architecture designed by Alexandra Exter that still look startlingly fresh a century on. Yulia Solntseva plays the queen Aelita, who has been watching Earth through a telescope for years; she later became one of the Soviet Union's leading directors in her own right. At 111 minutes, the silent film somehow manages to be a domestic murder mystery, a revolutionary comedy, and a genuine sci-fi fantasy all at once.

Stream Aelita: Queen of Mars (1924) on iFILM — early Soviet cinema at its most inventive.