Age of Pioneers (2017) The Spacewalker
IMDb meta-data is a runtime of 2 hours and 17 minutes, rated 7.2 by 4679 cinematizens.
Genre: Sy Fy.
DNA: Russia.
Verdict: Riveting!
Tagline: Good to go!
A superb account of the Soviet space mission for the first human EVA in 1965. For those who do not know what EVA means….tough!
Two flyboys get a chance and they take it. Needless to say, the timetable is changed because of political circumstances but off they go beyond the wild blue yonder to punch a hole in the sky. Sure enough things go wrong and they have to fly the tin can with the Right Stuff.
Meanwhile the flight director battles the technicians who are willing to sacrifice the flyers for the data from the flight, the general who prefers dead heroes rather than admit failure, and his own self doubts to bring his men back. They went with jaunty smiles for the camera, while the Flight Director promised them that he would bring them back for a drink.
There is a subplot with a ham radio operator that escaped both me and the subtitles. By the way the film Leonid Brezhnev is watching is the Planet of Storms (1962).
Superb performances all around from the actors with crisp direction.
The ingenuity, the persistence, and the courage to go where no one had gone before is breathtakingly brought home with astounding cinematography. The moment when Alexi releases the handhold is wonderful. Truly it was a gesture for our kind.
As to the period and setting, I note that no one smoked. No one. And the many staff members at Mission Control all looked pressed, ironed, and clean despite 72 hours or more of continuous duty in high tension. There seemed to be no second or third shift.
The few women in the cast stand around and look worried, or serve the tea.