''His Master's Voice'' (, ) is a 2018 Hungarian

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

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 is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...

'' by Polish science fiction writer

Stanisław Lem Stanisław Herman Lem (; 12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer. He was the author of many novels, short stories, and essays on various subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. Many of his science fi ...

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

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, around which a

conspiracy theory A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...

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".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 is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Canada. The film has elements of

mockumentary A mockumentary (a portmanteau of ''mock'' and ''documentary'') is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a Documentary film, documentary. Mockumentaries are often used to analyze or comment on current event ...

, 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. According to the FIAPF, it is one of Asia's competitive film festivals and the second largest film festival in Asia behind the ...

. At the 2019

Fantasporto Fantasporto International Film Festival (Portuguese: Festival Internacional de Cinema do Porto) is an international genre film festival, annually organized since 1981 in Porto, Portugal. Screening and awarding fantasy, sci-fi and horror orient ...

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