18.12.24, 20:30, On the Silver Globe (1988)

As Earth approaches yet another pointless round of suns, there is reason to reflect on the cosmic absurdity of existence. Delving into the dark mouth of nothingness, of course, cannot be done without everyone's favourite arthouse nihilist: Andrzej Zuławski. Best known for existential nightmares like The Third Part of the Night (1971) and Possession (1981), this Polish enfant terrible is the undefeated champion of unease. On the Silver Globe (1988) is possibly the entropic culmination of a career of diving deep into the horror of the human mind.

This nearly three-hour space opera begins in a distant corner of the universe on a planet reminiscent of Earth in its cold cruelty. A lone astronaut bureaucrat explores the barren landscape and its hostile inhabitants while trying to find out what happened to the members of a previous expedition. Plagued by hellish production and communist state interference, Zuławski himself succumbed to the weight of his dreams and failed to complete the film. However, the remaining havoc of conjuring imagery and narrative convulsions is a creation of terrifying beauty.