THE MYSTERY OF THE THIRD PLANET (1981) + Tarasov's THE RETURN & THE PASS

This program is part of 7th House's OUT THERE: FAR-OUT INTERGALACTIC ANIMATION series. Series info below and series passes available!

7th House is proud to present the Los Angeles premiere of a rare theatrical journey into the strange, expansive, and frequently trippy world of Soviet science fiction animation, bringing together the gorgeous new restorations of a beloved feature presentation and two vividly mindblowing short films from the legendary Soyuzmultfilm studio.

From the visionary science fiction literature of Stanislaw Lem and Arkady and Boris Strugatsky to landmark films like Solaris and Stalker, the Soviet Union produced some of the most searching and philosophically rich sci-fi of the 20th century—work that often used the genre’s allegorical possibilities to reflect, refract, and quietly critique life under authoritarian rule. At the same time, Soviet artists were building one of the most inventive and visually adventurous animation traditions in the world—and when the two merged, it gave rise to a stellar formation: a convergence of imagination coalescing into something vast, strange, and truly interstellar—where vibrant, hand-crafted imagery gives way to cosmic wonder, existential inquiry, and the farthest reaches of speculative vision and strange frontiers of cinema.

Bringing together Roman Kachanov’s Soviet classic sci-fi adventure with two striking films by under-sung animation master Vladimir Tarasov—one of the most singularly eye-popping artists in Soviet animation—this program reveals a cinematic tradition at once dazzling, disquieting, and wholly other.

THE MYSTERY OF THE THIRD PLANET

A young girl and her companions embark on an intergalactic expedition to collect rare alien creatures, only to become entangled in a sprawling cosmic mystery. Along the way, they traverse a series of vividly imagined, colorful planets populated by bizarre, shape-shifting lifeforms and eccentric extraterrestrial civilizations, each rendered in a bright, playful palette that is as inviting as it is subtly uncanny. Teeming with inventive design, offbeat humor, and a steady current of strangeness, Roman Kachanov’s Soviet classic sci-fi adventure—a beloved classic in its native country—unfolds as a spectacular journey through a universe where each new encounter opens onto something unexpected.

Dir. Roman Kachanov, 1981, 50 mins, USSR, Russian w/ English Subtitles, Unrated (Suitable for All Audiences), Digital.

THE RETURN + THE PASS

An under-sung master of short-form Soviet animation, Vladimir Tarasov crafted a body of work that is as philosophically rigorous as it is vividly psychedelic, pushing the boundaries of the medium toward something more introspective, disquieting, and strange. Across THE RETURN (1980) and THE PASS (1988), his kaleidoscopic, meticulously designed worlds become spaces of psychological and existential inquiry, where the vastness of outer space mirrors the inner workings of the mind.

In The Return, a lone cosmonaut drifts through space in a suspended, dreamlike state, his journey unfolding as a fragmented passage through memory, perception, and the unknown. Working in a varied visual language—shifting between stark black-and-white passages rendered in stippled pointillism and bursts of saturated, psychedelic color—Tarasov builds a world where, as he circles the Earth, memories of home and childhood begin to seep into waking life. Clean, graphic figures give way to high-surreal, Dalí-like visions of warped objects and impossible transformations, as the film drifts between the pull of hodme and the strange dislocation of orbit. Tarasov blurs the boundary between inner and outer space, turning the cosmos into a psychedelic psychological landscape that is, quite simply, one of the most incredible looking animated films ever made.

In The Pass—Tarasov’s final film and widely regarded as his magnum opus, adapted from a work by celebrated Soviet science-fiction writer Kir Bulychov—a group of human survivors stranded on a hostile alien planet, years removed from a catastrophic crash, undertake a perilous journey back to their long-abandoned spacecraft, confronting both a forbidding landscape and the lingering psychological toll of isolation. Along the way, they encounter the remnants of earlier, failed expeditions—ghostly traces of those who came before—suggesting a cycle of survival marked by loss and repetition. Bleak, atmospheric, and hauntingly evocative—and, as its darker corners encroach, straight-up “metal,” man—the film charts a slow, inexorable passage through both physical and existential terrain, bringing Tarasov’s singular vision to its fullest and most expansive realization.

Dir. Vladimir Tarasov

OUT THERE: FAR-OUT INTERGALACTIC ANIMATION (April — June!)

This April–June, 7th House is picking up strange signals from distant worlds — hand-hewn visions of tomorrow dispatched from impossible planets and the furthest reaches of inner and outer space. Prepare for blast-off with OUT THERE: FAR-OUT INTERGALACTIC ANIMATION!

Animation, with possibilities as boundless as imagination itself, has long served as a vessel for the cosmic, the surreal, and the otherwise unknowable. This globe-spanning series gathers a constellation of visionary works that harness the medium’s unique power to conjure radically other worlds, from psychedelic galaxies to metaphysical dreamscapes.

Spanning France, Canada, the Soviet Union, Romania, Germany, and Japan (with a surprise special USA/North Korea transmission arriving soon..!), these films traverse distant planets and interior landscapes alike — mapping strange futures, alternate dimensions, and the fragile architectures of consciousness itself.

Discounted series passes available! Full listings and links posting shortly!

4/19 – René Laloux Double Feature!: THE TIME MASTERS (1982) + FANTASTIC PLANET (1973)

4/24 – ROCK & RULE (1983) (co-presented by Uh Oh Canadia at WHAMMY! Analog Media)

4/26 — Soviet Sci-Fi Triple Header! (LA PREMIERE!): MYSTERY OF THE THIRD PLANET (1981) + 2 by Vladimir Tarasov – THE RETURN (1980) and THE PASS (1988)

5/10 — THE CATHEDRAL OF NEW EMOTIONS (2006) + Shorts

5/24 — SON OF THE STARS (1988)

6/7 – NIGHT ON THE GALACTIC RAILROAD (1985)

— Plus Surprise June Screening Announcing Soon!

ADVISORY DISCLAIMER

With some exception, The Philosophical Research Society’s 7th House Screenings does not typically provide advisory warnings about potentially upsetting content or subject matter, as sensitivities are particular to each viewer. Please be sure to read event listings, research on the web, or visit Common Sense Media, IMDb, and DoesTheDogDie.com for thorough info on content and age-appropriateness. If you have any specific content advisory questions, please email [email protected].

CONTENT DISCLAIMER

The views, opinions, and thoughts expressed within exhibited works are solely those of their creators and may not represent those of the Philosophical Research Society (PRS), its affiliates, or any individuals associated with PRS. Screenings are intended for educational and entertainment purposes.

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