I recently purchased the set of director Piotr Szulkin's science fiction films that was put out on blu-ray by Vinegar Syndrome. I was hesitant since I had not cared much for the one Szulkin film I had seen (The Golem), but overall, I liked the set. I enjoyed O-bi, O-ba: The End of Civilization the best of the four films, but I also liked Ga-ga: Glory to the Heroes.
In a totalitarian future, prisoners are used as space explorers. Scope, the protagonist, is sent to a planet that is very similar to earth. Here, his landing is both expected and hailed. He is proclaimed as a hero and can have anything he wants. However, there is a pretty big catch involved.
The world Scope finds himself in is an ugly, cheap one, one whose citizens crave entertainment, and the government bureaucracy gives it to them, through the country's "heroes." All of this is conveyed in a darkly humorous, satirical manner. This humor could be hit and miss at times. I got tired of the cannibal jokes, but other jokes hit. What I liked most how the film was able to convey a futuristic world with almost no special effects.
Ga, Ga: Glory to the Heroes is worth checking out for the more adventurous science-fiction fan.
