The journey of the sorcerer ends above outer space in the soothing fantasy space opera Rescue Mission 11.01, written and directed by Jaroslaw Gogolin. Rescue Mission 11.01 is a 3D animation feature that used the Unreal Engine 5 tool to create the characters, locations, and compose and light the shot compositions. Instead of any dialogue, Gogolin created a sound design using DaVinci Resolve, which was also used to edit the movie. So while the music is used to steer the mood, Gogolin resurrects the silent movie tradition for the world of the future.
A gigantic starship orbits around the faraway storm planet of Hekate 9. On the planet’s surface, rain pounds down on the dark temple where a sorcerer, wearing a skull and horns headdress, communes with a swirling presence from beyond. Out in the jungle is a crashed space cruiser, stranding a warrior woman with face paint, nose bone, and flaming red hair. Out from the starship above comes another star cruiser, with a young woman sporting a metal face plate steering. The never-ending lightning surrounding the sky brings her ship down as well. Under the wet leaves of the trees hides a growling skull face in a hood, its glowing eyes searching for prey…
I have been waiting for years for someone to make a movie like Rescue Mission 11.01. Throughout my pre-teen years, I was obsessed with both TSR’s Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and the same company’s sci-fi variation, Star Frontiers. I loved the idea of leaving the pavement of Earth and traveling into another world, using little more than a pencil, some dice, and several hundred dollars’ worth of game books, modules, and supplements. As those gaming systems were reliant on the steady cooperation of unsteady preteen boys on Monkey Island, I never got to truly escape. Rescue Mission 11.01 brings the escape I had dreamt of long ago.
“Out in the jungle is a crashed space cruiser, stranding a warrior woman…”
First of all, the hybrid of fantasy and sci-fi rolls up and smokes perfectly. Gogolin adds an indio-futurism look to a lot of his character designs that looks spectacular. Cosmic tribal is indeed a thing, and won’t the kids just love it. Gogolin walks a fine line between the traditional elements maintained and the innovations the hybrid format adds, which is satisfying from both ends. There is also this Barbie doll-like sheen on the character’s skin that is absolutely hypnotic. Please keep this shiny mannequin skin thing going, as it has this Thunderbirds feel, except next level. The sorcerer looks amazing, with Gogolin wisely spending a lot of time drinking in how bad-a*s he looks. The constant rain is excellent, as the viewers soon feel it is pounding down on them as well.
Immersion into the other world seems to be Gogolin’s motive, as we get to spend leisurely paced time to soak up the ambiance, literally. I must prefer his pacing, instead of being rushed from one plot point to another like an un-air-conditioned bus tour. It is sort of like the difference between running through a forest versus camping in it. Like the classic silent movies of the Golden Age, Gogolin lets the viewer experience each location while the story oozes on to beautiful music. This is the future of speculative movie-making: instead of seeing movies, you live in them. If you get high, then you need to experience the wonder of watching Rescue Mission 11.01 stoned. If you don’t get high, learn how to handle it with repeat viewings of Rescue Mission 11.01. This is highly recommended with no nudging; I loved it.
"…This is the future of speculative movie making..."
