Budet laskovyy dozhd (1984) User Reviews

nuclear family, indeed

[myriamlenys · 8/10 · 2 May 2021]

This striking animation short is based on the "There will come soft rains" story by Ray Bradbury, which, in my book, stills stands as one of the saddest and most poignant stories ever written within the science fiction and fantasy genre. In the story, a superbly automated house still continues to serve the various inhabitants (by providing shelter, food, information, entertainment and so on) even after these inhabitants have perished in a nuclear explosion.

It's not a wholly faithful adaptation. Details have been altered ; here, for instance, there are no images of a carefree family immortalized during one titanic and lethal second. Neither is there a pet dog dying of hunger and despair. However, the animation short does succeed in evoking a deep sense of sorrow. And just like the story, it is a bitterly ironic comment on the folly of Mankind, which has provided the scientific and technological means for its own total destruction.

"Budet" is certainly watchable - I recommend it - but on the whole it might have been more successful if the central domestic robot hadn't looked so creepy and so invasive. In the story, the pre-disaster house sounds like fun ; here it must have felt like a claustrophobic nightmare even BEFORE the nuclear attack struck. It's difficult to imagine an average family living happily and comfortably in such an environment.

Modern-day viewers will feel an additional frisson upon looking at the year in which the tale is set.

Perplexing Russian short

[Coventry · 9/10 · 9 March 2009]

This compelling animated movie from Russia, effectively portraying a post-apocalyptic sitcom scenario, deserves at least one praising comment around here, if it were only because it's so undeservedly obscure. The poem and short story it is based on, entitled "There Will Come Soft Rains" are fairly known, but this is a Soviet product released during the heights of the Cold War and thus not exactly something that got received well at the time. The story takes place in the year 2026, where state-of-the-art technology and robots have taken over even the most routine daily household shores. The house robot is unable to notice, however, that an overnight nuclear apocalypse wiped out the residents and he loyally continues to perform his domestic tasks. The technology is even so advanced that, when a pigeon – presumably the last living creature on the planet – flies through the broken window, the protection mechanism of the robot destroys the entire building. "There Will Come Soft Rains" offers a very engaging combination of sadness and disturbance, and although it sounds very clichéd, this short film genuinely evokes sentiments like "will mankind ever learn to stop destroying its own habitat?" Yes, it was that effective! Although they're merely just animated drawings, the images of vaporized children (still holding their teddy bears) and piles of dust in the rocking chair where grandma used to sit are nightmarish and WILL make you feel uncomfortable. The heavy computerized voice of the robot is scary and has "futuristic depression" written all over it. I had the privilege of seeing this unforgettable short during a Post-Apocalyptic themed festival in my home country, but I feel it should be put as an extra feature on DVD releases of other thoughtful Sci-Fi dramas, like for example "When the Wind Blows" and "Ladybug, Ladybug".

Nightmarish

[Rectangular_businessman · 9/10 · 22 January 2024]

This was one of the bleakest, most depressing animated works I have seen since When the Wind Blows. (Which also deals with the aftermath of a nuclear apocalypse)

Even when this isn't an entirely faithful adaptation, it surely does capture the incredibly somber mood from the source material perfectly well. (In all honesty, I'm kinda glad the agonizing dog from the original tale was not included, that scene honestly would have made an already hopeless story borderline unwatchable)

Sure, it might be very depressing to watch, but stories like this are (tragically enough) still necessary as dark reminders of our destructive capacity as especies, being not only able to bring our own extinction but the end of the rest of life on earth as well.

And to think that there are only two years left until 2026...