Greenland (2020)
The main character of the new film about the end of the world is an ordinary civil engineer from the USA named John. His marriage is on the verge of collapse, and humanity is on the verge of destruction. The only chance of salvation is underground bunkers in Greenland. Taking his family with him, John tries to get there. But the consequences of the coming catastrophe are already noticeable, and these are not destroyed cities, but people showing their worst qualities.
More new: 20 best science fiction films of 2020
Trailer
Original title : Greenland Genre : Action Actors : Gerard Butler, Morena Baccarin, Roger Dale Floyd... Country : UK, USA Rating : Kinopoisk – 6.4, IMDb – 6.3 Age restrictions : 16+
Human actions
Superbug
Not all genetically engineered products are equally beneficial, say New Zealand researchers Matt Boyd and Nick Wilson. The vigorous activity of modified microorganisms is not comparable with their size.
Out-of-control colonies of fungal mold and viruses, which are created faster than the antidote to them, can provoke a large-scale pandemic.
For an outbreak of antibiotic-resistant pneumonia, even a previously unknown disease, a few specimens escaped from the laboratory are enough. An emergency invention of an antidote or isolation can save you from a minor misfortune. The island states of Iceland and the homeland of scientists, New Zealand, are considered relatively safe.
War
The famous scientist Stephen Hawking has repeatedly warned humanity about artificial intelligence. The uprising of overpowered robots and overly intelligent military equipment may not be the plot of another super action movie, but a fatal reality. People, don’t even dream of winning this battle; at best, someone will manage to survive and become the founder of the next civilization.
Some futurologists propose returning to the production of weapons of the previous generation, impeccably subordinated to man. Geopolitical tensions have existed for a long time. The world is teetering on the brink of disaster, threatening to collapse at any moment. Relations between the countries have become tense. Clashes constantly arise on the borders of states that were previously good neighbors.
According to the prophecies of Nostradamus, published in the British edition of the Daily Star, the war will begin in 2021 and will last 27 years. The process will be launched by the 2021 acts of terror in Europe, then spread to other parts of the world.
The contradictions are contained directly in the collection of quatrains “Centuries”, published back in 1555. It contains a stanza that the starting point will be an earthquake and volcanic eruption (presumably in Yellowstone). But before that, people will learn to understand the language of animals and will face a plague of bees. Part of the prophecy has already come true: scientists have deciphered the language of orangutans.
Geostorm (2017)
In the exciting science fiction film, the apocalypse occurs due to an environmental disaster when natural disasters strike the planet. To monitor the weather, experts have created a network of special satellites. But one day the system fails and, instead of protecting the planet, it threatens all of humanity. To prevent a terrible Geostorm, scientists need to find the source of danger in record time.
Selection on the topic: 30 best disaster films
Trailer
Original title : Geostorm Genre : Science-fiction, action, thriller Actors : Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish... Country : USA Rating : Kinopoisk – 5.7, IMDb – 5.3 Age restrictions : 16+
Progressive Paradox
The Progressors are the vanguard of special forces, which the Noon humanity throws into the cauldron of feudal strife and imperialist wars. A progressor is a saboteur on the contrary. Introducing himself into the society of a “backward” planet under the guise of a local resident, he, through so-called “micro-influences,” imperceptibly intensifies the course of the historical process. Moreover, he acts solely for the benefit of the local population. Progressor activities have no practical benefit for the Earth and earthlings. It would seem - what could be more noble? Altruism in its purest form.
But here’s a paradox: all progressor projects described by the Strugatskys end in failure. Incredible, but true: the beloved brainchild of the authors, the powerful, smart and fearless Progressors have never been able to do their job properly.
The Forerunner of the Progressors, an employee of the Institute of Experimental History, Don Rumata, obsessed with the thirst for revenge after the murder of his beloved woman, fills the Arkanar capital with corpses, and he has to be hastily evacuated to Earth, having first been put to sleep (otherwise his own people would have gotten it).
Maxim Kammerer organizes a real sabotage on the planet Saraksh, without any “on the contrary”: he blows up the hypnocenter through which the entire system of government of the country was carried out, and does not think at all about the consequences of his actions. True, Maxim had not yet become a real Progressor at that time; he acted spontaneously, due to the prevailing circumstances. His concept of changing life for the better is extremely simple - blow up and burn what, in his opinion, should not exist, kill those who, in his opinion, are to blame for everything, and then... And then everything will be fine! Probably... And super-professional progressor Rudolf Sikorsky remains silent in confusion after listening to this minimum program. He is silent because he has nothing to say. If the powerful intelligence service of the Progressors was unable to outmaneuver a single amateur, then how can we talk about the effectiveness of this intelligence service? Is she able to cope with her grandiose plans?
And it’s scary to even imagine what the earthlings have “progressed” on Giganda. Korney Yashmaa, chief of staff of the Progressors, believes that ending the imperialist war in the Alay Duchy is an absolute blessing. And he stops. By the forces of the contingent entrusted to him. And for some reason I’m happy with what I’ve done. But in terms of its consequences for local residents, this is a catastrophe, in comparison with which Kammerer’s terrorist exercises on Saraksha are like children’s games of war... Having disarmed the warring armies, the Progressors actually handed over the abandoned weapons into the hands of the population. And it’s easy to imagine how the “porcupines”, no longer restrained by the requirements of army discipline, will dispose of it. Through the efforts of Korney, the imperialist war turned into a civil war. Instead of warring armies, the Alay received a flock of disparate gangs terrorizing the population throughout the territory of the former duchy. The state infrastructure is destroyed, epidemics are raging in the country... If this is called “micro-impact”, then what is “macro”?.. It is not surprising that Korney dissuades Gaga from returning to this world “improved” by the Progressors.
In general, nothing really works out for the Progressors. They want the best, but the result is complete massaraksh! Not a single successful operation. In several works in a row. This cannot be explained by a random plot twist; the author’s concept is visible here. Why, having come to improve other people’s worlds, do the people of Noon in these very worlds rapidly deteriorate themselves?
In my opinion, the fact is that, having plunged their Progressors into the “twilight of morality,” the Strugatskys did not at all intend to show readers the results of their work. But what happens to a Noon man who finds himself outside the social environment that raised him.
5th wave (2016)
The appearance of an alien spaceship above the earth did not bode well. However, no one guessed that the consequences would be so terrible. Power outages, tsunamis, pandemics are only part of the fatal events. All this happens before the eyes of sixteen-year-old Cassie, who does not remain indifferent to the fate of humanity. The film adaptation of Rick Yancey's novel is one of the top end-of-the-world films in the teen fantasy genre.
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Trailer
Original title : The 5th Wave Genre : Science-fiction, action, thriller, adventure Actors : Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson, Ron Livingston... Country : USA, UK Rating : Kinopoisk – 5.1, IMDb – 5.2 Age restrictions : 16+
The Day Before (2016)
Humanity was on the verge of extinction. Less than a day remains before the Earth collides with a huge comet. People were divided into three camps: those who pray, who decided to spend their last hours with family and friends, and those who decided to live their last day to the fullest. One thing remains unchanged - even in a movie about the apocalypse and the end of the world, Andrei Malakhov manages to host his own program.
Similar selection: Top 20 Russian science fiction films
Trailer
Genre : Drama, Fantasy Actors : Anatoly Bely, Daria Moroz, Elena Lyadova... Country : Russia Rating : Kinopoisk – 4.8 Age restrictions : 16+
The date of the apocalypse is hidden in the torus
The great Isaac Newton was convinced that the Bible was a cryptogram created by God, the solution of which would shed light on many future events. The scientist devoted 50 years of his life to deciphering the texts of the Old Testament in order to determine the date of the end of the world.
Many people are still working on the mathematical solution to the Torah code. Rabbi Matityahu Glazerson said that the code he identified allowed him to discover the phrase “Atomic Iran” in a 3,000-year-old text and isolate the year 5780, according to the traditional Jewish calendar, which corresponds to the modern year 2021. Also, according to information released by EXHRESS, the rabbi said that 2021 is defined in the Bible as the time of the Apocalypse. Unfortunately, Glazerson will no longer be able to verify his discovery personally. Soon after publication he died.
We can talk endlessly about whether the world will end in 2021. This is not the first decade when soothsayers predicted the destruction of civilization and the end of human existence. This was not always due to the prophecies themselves. Their interpreters were more often mistaken. We should not forget journalists, for whom the topic of catastrophic events has always been profitable - after all, it significantly increases the ratings of any media. The editors of Grimuar.ru advise us to continue to remain human, despite the annual prediction of the onset of doomsday.
Noah (2014)
The large-scale film by popular director Darren Aronofsky is based on the biblical story of the Flood. Noah is the only righteous man. He is visited by visions of the terrible end of the world. For the sake of the family's survival, Noah begins to build a huge ship, where many sinners would like to go. Being a new movie, the film collected a record box office in the first days of release, and the leading actor Russell Crowe was awarded an audience with the Pope.
Trailer
Original title : Noah Genre : Drama, adventure, fantasy Actors : Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Emma Watson... Country : USA Rating : Kinopoisk – 6.7, IMDb – 5.7 Age restrictions : 12+
End of the World 2013: Apocalypse Hollywood Style (2013)
This fantastic comedy with elements of black humor is the answer to the question of which movie to watch about the apocalypse without getting depressed. This funny movie was released with an unprecedented age limit of 40+. Jay goes to a noisy party with a group of celebrities when there are explosions, car accidents and mass chaos. But at the party everything is calm and the guests take Jay's story for a bad joke.
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Trailer
Original title : This Is the End Genre : Comedy, fantasy Actors : Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco... Country : USA Rating : Kinopoisk – 6.1, IMDb – 6.6 Age restrictions : 16+
The main discovery of the Strugatskys
No, I, of course, am not going to claim that the Strugatskys are secret Christians. To canonize their through-line hero Leonid Gorbovsky (who expresses the ethical principles of the writers themselves) would be as absurd as admitting Maxim Kammerer to the Komsomol.
In my opinion, the World of Noon is not a utopia, and certainly not a disguised dystopia. This is, rather, a kind of thought experiment, the results of which were unexpected for the authors themselves. The Strugatskys, by their own admission, tried to describe the world in which they themselves would like to live. But on the way to this romantic goal, as they delved deeper into the description of the details, they encountered completely unromantic circumstances. Depicting the world itself turned out to be not so difficult. Moreover, the Strugatskys always show the social structure and technical achievements of mankind in passing, in the background. The authors depicted the world of their dreams not through a description of the “World Council” or various “smart” pieces of iron - shooting, flying, turning sawdust into gold. All this is background, something taken for granted. The main content of the Strugatskys’ creativity was the people of the future, or more precisely, the inner world of these people.
The Strugatskys asked themselves: what goals can humanity set for itself after it has solved all its pressing problems? After all, healthy human needs are not so difficult to satisfy. Let's say that all people are well-fed, clothed and shod, provided with housing and a job they like, there are no wars and are not expected, all humanity is one family... What's next? Is this comfortable life really happiness? Of course, the Strugatskys were not satisfied with such petty-bourgeois well-being of the “sixties” people. And they came up with a new vector of development for their well-fed, non-war humanity. The driving forces in the World of Noon were two aspirations that prevent people from becoming sour in conditions of complete material well-being. The first is an insatiable thirst for acquiring new knowledge, even at the risk of life. The second is bringing all humanoid civilizations (caught by the people of Noon at the feudal or imperialist stage of their development) to their own, communist level.
It was here that the Strugatskys made their main creative discovery, which made their works lively, fascinating and beloved by several generations of readers, and at the same time destroyed all the authors’ hopes that the World of Noon could be considered ideal. The Strugatskys invented the Progressors.
Let me make a reservation right away: it does not at all follow from their texts that the majority or at least a significant part of the people of the World of Noon were engaged in progressorism. Moreover, there are relatively few progressives there, and the attitude towards them is not always enthusiastic. And 99 percent of the population is engaged in science, space exploration, raising children... And yet, it is progressivism that is the semantic center of the vast majority of works about the 22nd century. It is not starships and scientific discoveries (like, for example, Efremov’s), but it is the Progressors that are most interesting to both readers and, obviously, the Strugatskys themselves.
Last Hours (2013)
A fantastic thriller about the last day on planet Earth. Finally, James goes to a party to spend time with friends. But on the way, he meets a little girl named Rose, who is looking for her father. The hero faces a difficult moral choice - to spend his last hours having fun or to help a defenseless baby.
Trailer
Original title : These Final Hours Genre : Thriller, drama, fantasy Actors : Nathan Phillips, Angourie Rice, Jessica De Gouw... Country : Australia Rating : Kinopoisk – 6.4, IMDb – 6.7 Age restrictions : 18+
Apocalypse Day (2013)
At the center of the events is Owen, a big fan of watching the best films about the apocalypse. On the birthday of his girlfriend Selena, a quarrel occurs between them due to the guy’s childish behavior, interrupted by the news about the imminent end of the world. Fortunately, the hundreds of films I watched bore fruit. After all, thanks to them, Owen knows exactly what to do in such a case.
See also: Top 20 post-apocalyptic films
Trailer
Original title : End of the World Genre : Science-fiction, action, thriller, drama, adventure Actors : Greg Granberg, Neil Grayston, Caroline Cave... Country : Canada, USA Rating : Kinopoisk – 4.1, IMDb – 4.8 Age restrictions : 16+
Psychics about doomsday
Not a single prophecy about the end of the world is complete without references to famous mystics and fortune-tellers. Even in the Bible there are descriptions of the arrival of the messengers of the Apocalypse, although without reference to the exact date.
Nibiru
Ufologists associate the end of the world 2020 with the planet Nibiru and Vanga’s prophecy. Researchers are at a loss as to where the little-studied celestial body came from with three satellites. According to one hypothesis, these are fragments of the planet itself.
Taiwanese ufologist Scott Waring believes that Nibiru has the property of attracting cosmic bodies; it is possible that the ballast will affect its trajectory. Based on his own calculations, the researcher fears a collision with the Earth.
Evangelist Paul Begley
An American preacher, a modern clairvoyant, claims that the end of the world will be postponed until May 26, 2021. Then an interesting weather phenomenon is expected - a blood moon. This fact is noted in the Holy Scriptures as one of the harbingers of the Apocalypse: “The Sun will turn into darkness and the Moon into blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.” However, Begley's predictions are very cautious. He is not categorical, but emphasizes the possibility of a disaster.
Scientists say that the blood moon appears in the sky about once every three years. This happens when the Sun illuminates our natural satellite while it is in the shadow of the planet. Therefore, you should not expect God's punishment.
Looking for a friend for the end of the world (2011)
This fantastic comedy is a pearl in the selection of the best films about the apocalypse and the end of the world. The movie tells about the last days of humanity before the apocalypse, when the Earth is about to collide with a comet. There is no salvation from this catastrophe, so people are resorting to all sorts of hardships. And only the central character named Dodge decides to find his first school love Olivia.
Trailer
Original title : Seeking a Friend for the End of the World Genre : Melodrama, drama, comedy, fantasy Actors : Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Adam Brody... Country : USA Rating : Kinopoisk – 6.6, IMDb – 6.7 Age restrictions : 16+
Melancholia (2011)
A fantastic drama by the cult Danish director Lars von Trier, which won prestigious awards at foreign film festivals. The film tells about the last days before the apocalypse. The catastrophe should break out as a result of the collision of the Earth with another planet. Sisters Justine and Claire perceive the news of the coming end of the world in different ways, trying to understand and accept the inevitable.
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Trailer
Original title : Melancholia Genre : Fantasy, drama Actors : Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alexander Skarsgard... Country : Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany Rating : Kinopoisk – 7.0, IMDb – 7.2 Age restrictions : 16+
Shelter (2011)
The events of one of the top films about the end of the world take place in a small town in Ohio. Here Curtis lives peacefully with his family, who are saddened only by the deafness of their little daughter. One day, a man begins to have nightmares about the approach of a terrible hurricane and the death of humanity, repeating every night. As a result, Curtis decides to build a family hideout, which is why others mistake him for a madman.
Trailer
Original title : Take Shelter Genre : Horror, thriller, drama Actors : Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Tova Stewart... Country : USA Rating : Kinopoisk – 6.8, IMDb – 7.4 Age restrictions : 16+
Legion (2010)
According to the plot of the mystical thriller, God sends angels to Earth to destroy people. To prevent the apocalypse, Archangel Michael stands up to protect humanity. He unites a handful of outcasts under his leadership and waits with them for the emergence of a new Messiah in a lonely diner in the middle of a vast desert.
Selection on topic: Top 25 best mystical thrillers
Trailer
Original title : Legion Genre : Horror, fantasy, action Actors : Paul Bettany, Lucas Black, Tyrese Gibson... Country : USA Rating : Kinopoisk – 5.5, IMDb – 5.3 Age restrictions : 18+
The question is more important than the answer
It turned out that there is. And guessing where is not at all difficult. The Strugatskys depicted a world in which people have hopelessly forgotten about the Incarnation and the Savior’s Sacrifice on the Cross, in which the Church is nowhere to be seen, in which man has become the measure of everything. This world does not know wars or famines, but is on the brink of great upheavals and catastrophes. And a certain human superman, a native of the human environment, but no longer a man, undertakes to save humanity from future disasters.
Those who are familiar with the Holy Scriptures probably already understand everything. Christian doctrine describes precisely this way the state of humanity before the end of the world, when “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on Earth?” (Luke 18 , 8), “... when they say: ‘peace and security,’ then destruction will suddenly overtake them” (1 Thess. 5 , 3). This will be the time when the Church goes into the desert, and the Lord will feed it there until His Second Coming. And above humanity, united after “psychosocial” and other shocks, will rise, like “over a catcher in the rye,” a superman, who can well be called human. Or - a non-human, since he will be born as a result of some kind of genetic experiment and will no longer be fully human. The Church calls him the beast, or the Antichrist.
Therefore, in the World of Noon, the Strugatskys have nothing that would make it unacceptable for Christian consciousness. On the contrary, Christ directly told his disciples: “When these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads, for your redemption is drawing near” (Lk. 21, 28).
And it is not so important whether the Strugatskys themselves envisioned such an option for reading their books. Good literature differs from bad not by genre or party or religious affiliation. A contemporary of the Strugatskys, Vladimir Vysotsky, has the following poems:
...But a burst of genius is like delirium, Death looks askance at birth. And we all give a tricky answer and don’t find the right question...
Good literature always poses questions to the reader, while bad literature imposes ready-made answers on him. The fiction of the Strugatsky brothers is a real, great phenomenon in Russian literature; the most serious questions there are, perhaps, no less than those of Dostoevsky. And whether the reader wants to live in the World of Noon or regards it as the approaching end of the world is his business. In any case, the Strugatskys do not bind their readers to their own interpretation. And a Christian answer to the questions they pose is quite possible.
Last Love on Earth (2010)
This highly rated fantasy melodrama is one of the best films about the apocalypse. In the story, the end of the world comes when people all over the planet begin to lose their senses. A fleeting connection develops between Michael and Susan, but when the threat of the apocalypse becomes real, the lovers realize that they cannot live without each other.
Trailer
Original title : Perfect Sense Genre : Fantasy, drama, melodrama Actors : Ewan McGregor, Eva Green, Ewan Bremner... Country : UK, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland Rating : Kinopoisk – 7.6, IMDb – 7.1 Age restrictions : 16+
Blindness (2008)
The film is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by the famous Portuguese writer Jose Saramago. The apocalypse on the planet occurs as a result of a sudden epidemic of blindness. A terrible illness affects all people, revealing their true, not always attractive, essence. The only sighted woman who escaped a terrible fate will become a guide to the future for the rest.
Similar selection: Top 25 films about epidemics
Trailer
Original title : Blindness Genre : Science-fiction, thriller, drama, detective Actors : Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Gael Garcia Bernal... Country : Brazil, Canada, Japan, UK, Italy Rating : Kinopoisk – 6.6, IMDb – 6.6 Age restrictions : 16 +
Golden Rule
Supporters of “non-religious” morality will most likely immediately object, recalling the golden rule of ethics: do not do to others what you do not wish for yourself. This formula, it would seem, should work in the absolutely non-religious space of the World of Noon. But the fact of the matter is that it doesn’t work. The ethics of the Communards of the future does not correspond even to such a simple and understandable rule, and the Strugatskys themselves again reveal this discrepancy. Humanity of the future “progresses” backward peoples on other planets secretly, without informing their inhabitants about its good intentions, and even more so without asking their opinion on the appropriateness of progressor “micro” or “macro” influences. But as soon as it seemed to the people of Noon that the mysterious Wanderers were trying to influence them, a commotion began, turning into panic. It turned out that the people of Noon are mortally afraid that some super-civilization, with the same good intentions, will “progress” them. They are so afraid that Sikorski, out of fright, kills the unfortunate Lev Abalkin. Whether Abalkin was an “automatic machine of the Wanderers” or not is unclear. But COMCON-2, consisting of former Progressors, in this situation actually acted like “a gang of idiots, mad with fear.” Moreover, the Progressors themselves are most acutely afraid of such external influence. This is understandable: don’t they know what it tastes like – goodness, given by force! They themselves fed it to others all their lives; they don’t need to explain anything.
“No one believes that the Travelers are trying to do harm to earthlings. This is truly extremely unlikely. We are afraid of something else, something else! We are afraid that they will start doing good here, as THEY understand it!
- Good is always good! - Asya said forcefully.
“You know very well that this is not so.” Or maybe you don't really know? But I explained it to you. I was a Progressor for only three years, I brought good, only good, nothing but good, and, God, how they hated me, these people! And they were in their right. Because the gods came without asking permission. Nobody called them, but they stuck in and began to do good. The very good that is always good. And they did it secretly, because they knew that mortals would not understand their goals, and if they understood, they would not accept...”
In this desperate cry of Toivo Glumova there is another explanation for progressor failures. The Strugatskys came up with new heroes - the Progressors, came up with an occupation for them - historical micro-influence, but were never able to compose for them a moral and ethical code that would satisfy that very golden rule of ethics - do not do to others what you do not wish for yourself. And here the Strugatskys make a simply brilliant move: if the golden rule does not work, then another law comes into play, which says: what they fought for, that’s what they ran into. Toivo Glumov hunted for the Wanderers, and found the non-human Ludens, moreover, he became one of them.
Three days (2008)
In this movie about the apocalypse, the death of the Earth is rapidly approaching a huge meteorite. The scientists' experiments failed, and humanity had only 72 hours left to exist. There is chaos and panic all around, and only one person is indifferent to what is happening - handyman Alejandro, whose life is empty and has no meaning. The hero's family keeps a terrible secret that could destroy it before a meteorite hits. Alejandro decides to save his family from the networks of the past, further relying on the will of fate.
Trailer
Original title : Tres días Genre : Fantasy, thriller, drama, crime Actors : Victor Clavijo, Mariana Sorbero, Eduard Fernandez... Country : Spain Rating : Kinopoisk – 5.6, IMDb – 6.0 Age restrictions : 16+
Where does morality come from?
The basis of Christian ethics is a simple and obvious truth - God did not create evil. Everything that God created is “good.” Consequently, everything that corresponds to God’s plan for the world and man is good. And evil appeared as a result of the deviation of rational and free creatures in their moral choice from this plan.
But in the World of Noon, people do not believe in God. The Strugatskys needed to come up with some other ethical principles, and they had already completely come up with them. It only turned out that for some reason these principles do not work even in the space of a work of art. And the authors do not hide this from the reader. The Strugatskys, however, do not give a direct definition of good, but indirectly good in the World of Noon is called the development of the mind. Here is the ethical system from Don Rumata: “...man is an objective bearer of reason, everything that prevents a person from developing reason is evil, and this evil must be eliminated.” But the mind for a person is just a tool. An immoral person can do more harm the more he develops his mental abilities. A smart scoundrel is worse than an evil fool. The same Don Reba, the main villain in Arkanar, is far from a fool, because he managed to decipher Rumata-Stirlitz and outplay him, despite all the power of the earthly civilization that prepared him. And the Sorcerer from Saraksha will be smarter than many earthlings, but for this reason it is unlikely that he can be called kind.
The Strugatskys call, perhaps, only Leonid Gorbovsky a truly kind person. But it is precisely on this hero, so beloved by the authors, that they themselves break down their proposed ethical scheme “good = reason.” According to the Strugatskys, Gorbovsky “...was like something out of a fairy tale: always kind and therefore always right.”
Such was his era that kindness always won. “Out of all possible solutions, choose the best one.” Not the most promising, not the most rational, not the most progressive and certainly not the most effective - the kindest! Here the authors openly put morality above reason. So, if we are to look somewhere for the sources of the moral principles of the Noon humanity, then, of course, not from Rumata, but from Grandfather Gorbovsky.
And then the Strugatskys, through the lips of their favorite, utter amazing words: “...science does not solve moral problems, and morality - in itself, within itself - has no logic, it was given to us before us, like fashion for trousers, and does not answer the question: why one way and not another.” It was here that the Strugatskys asked a problem between the lines, which, as usual, they left without a solution: who could have asked morality before us ? Other people? So they also had morality, just as irrational, without any logic within it, where did it come from?
There are only two approaches to such a puzzle - either admit that morality is based on religion, or leave the question open. The Strugatskys chose the second. But a correctly posed question contains three-quarters of the answer. And the authors posed the question, as always, with exceptional precision.
Inferno (2007)
The list of interesting films about the apocalypse and the end of the world includes a science fiction thriller directed by Danny Boyle. Due to the rapidly cooling Sun, humanity is facing the threat of extinction. In the hope of salvation, earthlings send a spaceship with a nuclear charge on board to the star to re-ignite the life-giving star.
Selection on the topic: 30 best films about space
Trailer
Original title : Sunshine Genre : Fantasy, thriller Actors : Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne, Cliff Curtis... Country : UK, USA Rating : Kinopoisk – 7.3, IMDb – 7.2 Age restrictions : 16+
Child of Men (2006)
Alfonso Cuaron directed a philosophical-fantasy film based on the work of the same name by F.D. James. In the 21st century, the world is in anarchy due to an epidemic of infertility. Humanity is on the verge of extinction when an unknown pregnant woman appears out of nowhere. Her child can become a salvation for all people if the girl is taken to a safe place.
Trailer
Original title : Children of Men Genre : Science-fiction, thriller, drama Actors : Clive Owen, Claire-Hope Ashitey, Julianne Moore... Country : USA, UK, Japan Rating : Kinopoisk – 7.4, IMDb – 7.9 Age restrictions : 16+
War of the Worlds (2005)
Steven Spielberg directed his film adaptation of H. G. Wells's science fiction novel, but it takes place not in the 19th century, but in the 21st century. A threat to humanity is posed by highly developed creatures from another planet. They watched earthlings through space for a long time, developing a plan to destroy life on Earth, and one day they began to implement it.
See also: 20 best science fiction films of 2019
Trailer
Original title : War of the Worlds Genre : Fantasy, thriller, adventure Actors : Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto... Country : USA Rating : Kinopoisk – 7.1, IMDb – 6.5 Age restrictions : 12+
Ideal target
In the works of the Strugatskys there is always some kind of understatement, the absence of a clearly expressed attitude of the authors themselves to the events that they describe. Every time I read their next novel in one sitting, I felt that the cunning authors had deceived me again. Having asked a bunch of riddles, posed a lot of questions, raised a lot of problems, in the end they never give a ready-made solution to their puzzles. On the contrary, the unexpected outcome only adds to the mystery, the whole plot appears from a completely different angle, but the problem still remains a problem, and the mystery remains a mystery. Breathe a sigh of relief and say to yourself: “Well, finally everything has become clear!” - the reader of the Strugatskys will never be able to, since each of their answers gives rise to many new questions.
Probably for this very reason the Strugatskys have always been a desired target for critics of all kinds. In Soviet times, literary critics reproached them for their insufficient compliance with the World of Noon (a cycle of novels and stories about the life of mankind in the 22nd century - ed.) with communist ideology. And this was partly true, since in the World of Noon there really are no city party committees and planetary Lenin subbotniks.
And in our time, I have more than once had to read articles by Christian authors who technically and knowledgeably denounce the World of Noon for its absolute irreligion. And this is also true. In the world of the Strugatskys, religion is present only on backward planets, and even then in caricatured forms, such as the cult of “Saint Mika” in Arkanar. Communard earthlings not only do not believe in God, but they do not even feel the slightest need for such faith. For believers, this option for a “bright future for humanity” is certainly unacceptable, since the Christian understanding of a happy future implies the relationship between God and man exactly the opposite: “...God will be all in all” (1 Cor. 15 , 28). All disasters of people at all times have, according to Christian doctrine, one cause - the falling away of created man from his Creator. Humanity will never be able to build a paradise in which there is no God for one simple reason: after all, Paradise is, in fact, the presence of God, where God is, there is Paradise. It won't work any other way.
And from this position, the Strugatskys’ work is an ideal target for a believing critic who wants to practice proving the inconsistency of a godless paradise on Earth. There are more than enough reasons for this in the cycle about the World of Noon.
All this is true. But to me this approach to the Strugatskys’ work seems just as one-sided and flawed as the former criticism of their work by communist ideologists. Because this approach leaves out one very important point. The fact is that all the arguments and facts, all the ethical and social contradictions of the World of Noon, with which critics operate, were taken by them not from anywhere, but from the works of the Strugatsky brothers... And these contradictions are scattered throughout the World of Noon by the generous hand of the author. So, really, such smart people as the Strugatskys did not see inconsistencies in their works that were obvious to any attentive reader? I seriously doubt it.
