Story (FID 2003) and Cosmonaut Polyakov (FID 2007) were the first two
parts of a trilogy concluded by this new film. Whereas we were to meet
unusual characters in the previous titles, we are now invited to explore the
collective dimension of this epic tale.
We are suddenly sent into space with gentle rocking images from the many
flights carried out by international spaceship crews over the past thirty years.
Throughout this long journey, Dana Ranga takes time to observe and tries to
disorient us with upside down images. The film also features the daily chore
routine and comical sketches, such as the one starring a waggish astronaut
doing acrobatics with an airborne water bubble.
What is living in space like? Many answers – written in white colour over black
title cards – are sprinkled throughout the film in addition to the somewhat
silent archive images. They are the results of many hours of interviews unveiling
wonders, doubts and fears, all visibly indistinguishable while working as
reverse shots. The other side of the expected heroism is gradually revealed
beneath anonymous, voiceless words that establish the adventure’s collective
dimension. Ambivalent feelings take shape, for ‘once you go to space,
you never know if you will be back’, as one of the title cards reminds us. (NF)