General Zhuravlev fought on the fronts of World War II, and is now designing spacecraft. Sending a rocket with astronaut Borodin on the flight, he recalls the namesake of the astronaut - a young tankman whom he had the chance to meet on the roads of war ...
Direction
Khrabrovitsky's flashback weaving is surgical.
Cinematography
Ashy war desolation vs. sterile space-age whites.
Acting
Oleg Strizhenov carries decades of unspoken grief.
Director
Daniil Khrabrovitsky
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released during the Space Race's peak, this was one of few Soviet films to question the human cost of cosmic ambition rather than purely celebrate it.
Nikita Mikhalkov's early role here predates his directing career; he later became Putin's controversial cinematic mouthpiece, making his presence in this questioning film ironically poignant.
SU
