Pervye na Lune

We weren't there first but we have certainly produced a perfect mockumentary.

I've seen it twice now, and it was even better on a second viewing. The perfect timing of each scene, the meticulous attention to every tiny detail, the amazing amateur cast (none of the actors have appeared in a film before; watch out especially for the old lady who plays a retired nurse reminiscing about one of the main characters), the deadpan voice-over, the humour, and even the surprisingly moving tragic scenes - if you know anything at all about Russia, there's everything to guarantee that you'll love this film.

Suffice it to say that yesterday I spent an equivalent of 13 dollars on a licensed DVD copy of the film. I could have got a pirated one for 1/4 of the price, and like most Russians, I usually do, but the makers of this film deserve all the money it can make them.

This "mockumentary" mixes facts and fantasy, vintage footage, and fake footage, a mix of the the vintage and the new, in showing the successes and failures, the injustices and contradictions in Stalinist Russia, using its space program as the basis.

The film begins in the spring of 1938, in the mountains of northern Chile, where a flying object fell, in flames, later referred to as the Chilean Sphere". This episode is composed of clearly recently reconstructed scenes. So, an investigation of the episode by a filming team, comes upon an important discovery. This is a secret space program developed in the Soviet Union before World War II. Scientists and military authorities, the film would have you believe, had developed a spaceship 23 years before Yuri Gagarin ever went to space.

The amusing elements of fiction and true statements of the Stalin era the interesting features of this film, which lack continuity, not always easy to follow. I think it was intended for the intellectuals of the former Soviet Republics, particularly Russia, Kazakhstan, and the Ucraine. Its appeal, even in the festival circuit, is very limited.

Lacking cohesion, and depending on the non-stop loud Russian-language commentary to follow the film, it is not comprehensible to the non-Russian speaker, or a non-ex Soviet citizen in one screening. And who'd want to sit through another screening. Though the idea sounds good, it will really be quite boring to most everyone.

A very nice movie, much better then what I expected. The story is really enjoyable, being a merger of the 'pulp science fictionish' feel of the first half of the 20th century space exploration with documentary about the iron reality of the early Soviet communist era.

This 'mock documentary' is well done, but is somewhat 'unfinished' - not yet ready for release. Quite a few questions remain completely unanswered - and although it adds to the mystery, I think I'd appreciate it more if the documentary would at least comment on itself - why it didn't answer all the questions.

The movie reminds me of Japanese anime 'The Wings of Honneamise' - so if you liked one, do see the other.

"Mockumentary" doesn't do this film justice. Apparently the director's label is "documentary fantasy", but "alternative history" works for me. There's some humor here, but it's not a comedy. After all, taking the premise that Stalin had a secret space program in the 30's to its logical conclusion doesn't exactly point to it being a Laff Riot... What you DO have is a fascinating "historical" documentary tracing this secret rocket program of the late 1930's and following the cosmonaut's lives before, during, and after. Much of what would be seen as "fictional recreations" in most documentaries is explained and presented as NKVD surveillance video -- a great conceit. The film includes recreations of newsreels, training films, and also "contemporary" interviews that support a fascinating story. I saw this at the 2006 Seattle International Film Festival, where it sold out both showings. See it if you can!