Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: SPACEWALKER [Sonoma International Film Festival 2021 - Virtual]

Like "The Right Stuff", different countries have different intentions of their national heroes. Alexei Leonov who was the first person to walk in space did so from behind the confines of the Soviet Union so his story was of course heavily edited to fit in with state media. The interesting aspect of "Spacewalker" is that it balances being produced by Timur Bekmambetov (of "Wanted" fame) but also had Leonov (who died in 2019) as a consultant. The film was released in Russia in 2017 but is only recently made it to the States. The inclusion of Leonov's perspective makes the eventual mission much more relevant because, even though it is of course heightened from dramatic purposes, it paints a very specific picture that only Leonov could be aware of. It is both triumphant but shows the cracks that we here in America weren't privy to see. Looking at the Space Race from the other side is quite interesting but the film also takes into consideration the generation Leonov came from and what fueled him. The opening scene, like that of Chuck Yeager in "The Right Stuff" paints a very specific portrait of who this man was and how he approached his life.

While there are some proud strokes to be sure and the themes of loyalty, decisiveness and bravery play throughout, there is the intensiveness of how Leonov used logic and sometimes brazenness to think outside the box. There is some criticism of the establishment which is bound to happen but that doesn't take away from the dexterity of the accomplishment. The mission and the people involved seemed much more compact and fly by the seat of your pants than the US Space Program. The actual mission and how it plays out is much more harrowing even though it is played for realness for the most part. The aspect also of launching in the dead cold is an interesting irony from what we know here in the States watching the shuttle or Space X blast off from Cape Canaveral. It definitely creates a different feel but "Spacewalker" is good at relating these aspects. While the scenes seem overplayed at times (this mostly might be do to a much too enthusiastic dub of the film), it would be interesting to see it in its original Russian language because sometimes some nuances are lost. That said, "Spacewalker" is an interesting voyage of the first spacewalker and the man who eventually was to be the first Soviet on the moon but it is told through a bigger budget canvas which gives, especially in its orbital scenes, a sense of scale that encapsulates those first steps. B

By Tim Wassberg