''His Master's Voice'' ( hu, Az Úr hangja, ) is a 2018 Hungarian

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

film by

György Pálfi György Pálfi (born 11 April 1974 in Budapest, Hungary) is a Hungarian filmmaker. His film ''Taxidermia'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Pálfi's films have received numerous awards and nominatio ...

loosely based on the novel ''

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...

'' by Polish science fiction writer

Stanisław Lem Stanisław Herman Lem (; 12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction and essays on various subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. Many of his science fiction stories are of satirical ...

. The film follows a man who thinks he saw his father in a documentary about a mysterious incident in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, around which a

conspiracy theory A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

had been formed. He embarks on the search of his father, who had fled Communist Hungary years ago. Eventually he finds his father, now a well-off university professor with a new family, but whose life is still affected by his previous work to decode the "

message from space is a 1978 Japanese space opera film directed by Kinji Fukasaku. It stars Sonny Chiba, Etsuko Shihomi, and Vic Morrow. Produced by Toei with a cost between the equivalent of US$5 and 6 million, it was the most expensive film made in Japan at t ...

".Anton Bitel
"His Master’s Voice first look: a voyage into an enigmatic universe of otherness"
(film review at Fantasporto 2019) The film was backed by a $2.54 million grant from the Hungarian National Film Fund. While the majority of filming was in Hungary, ''His Master's Voice'' was also shot in various locations around

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Canada. The film has elements of

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

, featuring shots with outdated cameras and formats. ''His Master's Voice'' premiered at the 2018

Tokyo International Film Festival The is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biennially from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter. Along with the Shanghai International Film Festival, it is one of Asia's competitive film festivals, and is considered to be the ...

. At the 2019

Fantasporto Fantasporto, also known as Fantas, is an international film festival, annually organized since 1981 in Porto, Portugal. Giving screen space to Fantasy film, fantasy/Science fiction film, science fiction/Horror film, horror-oriented commercial fe ...

International Film Festival, the film received the prize for the Best Visual Effects."FANTASPORTO 2019 39th OPORTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL"
(retrieved October 27, 2019)

References

External links

* {{Stanisław Lem 2018 films 2010s Hungarian-language films Films directed by György Pálfi Hungarian science fiction films Films based on works by Stanisław Lem 2018 science fiction films