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''First on the Moon'' (russian: Первые на Луне, ''Pervye na Lune'') is a 2005
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n
mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...
science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...
about a fictional 1930s Soviet landing on the
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
. The film, which went on to win many awards, was the debut of the director
Aleksei Fedorchenko Aleksey Fedorchenko (russian: Алексе́й Станисла́вович Федо́рченко; born 1966) is a film director from Yekaterinburg, Russia who won accolades at the Venice Film Festival with the mockumentary ''First on the Moon'' ...
.


Plot

A group of journalists are investigating a highly secret document when they uncover a sensational story: that before the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, in 1938, the first rocket was made in the USSR and Soviet scientists were planning to send an orbiter to the Moon and back. The evidence is convincing; it is clear that in this case, Soviet crewed lunar program cosmonauts were first. The movie follows the selection and training of a small group of cosmonauts. The one who shines above the others (similar to the clear front-runners in the early historical Soviet space program) is Captain Ivan Sergeyevich Kharlamov (possibly a reference to the real-life cosmonaut
Valentin Varlamov Valentin Stepanovich Varlamov (russian: Валентин Степанович Варламов; 15 August 1934 – 2 October 1980) was a Russian jet pilot who was selected for List of astronauts by selection#1960, Air Force Group 1, the first int ...
). He is helped into a space suit and loaded into the capsule, and the rocket lifts off for the Moon—but contact with it is soon lost. Most of the remainder of the film seems to follow the search for information about what happened next, as the 1930s space program appears to have dissolved immediately after, with no reason given (but presumably as a part of Stalin's purges). It is implied that Kharlamov returned to Earth, but with no fanfare and apparently no assistance from the space program. A number of men are shown as suspected of being Kharlamov—the
NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...
seems to be conducting a criminal investigation of the program and it is implied that those involved, including Kharlamov himself, are in hiding. It seems that the capsule returned to Earth and landed in
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, and that Kharlamov journeyed to the
Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...
by way of
Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...
and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, yet feared capture on his return. His wife apparently covered for him when interrogated as to his whereabouts. Kharlamov is later found on the
Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
n steppes following the
Battles of Khalkhin Gol The Battles of Khalkhin Gol (russian: Бои на Халхин-Голе; mn, Халхын голын байлдаан) were the decisive engagements of the undeclared Soviet–Japanese border conflicts involving the Soviet Union, Mongolia, Jap ...
, having suffered a severe
traumatic brain injury A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity (ranging from mild traumatic brain injury TBI/concussionto severe traumatic b ...
. After undergoing psychiatric treatment in a sanitorium in Chita, he disappears. His wife later remarries. The very end of the movie shows the only footage of the mission itself after launch, explaining it as a film which was found at the landing site in Chile and is currently in the possession of the
Antofagasta Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669. After the Spanish American wars ...
Natural museum. First there is a brief clip showing Kharlamov piloting the vehicle, presumably on final approach to the Moon. Following that is an equally brief panorama of a lunar landscape with the capsule or lander (it's unclear whether this was a
direct ascent Direct ascent is a method of landing a spacecraft on the Moon or another planetary surface directly, without first assembling the vehicle in Earth orbit, or carrying a separate landing vehicle into orbit around the target body. It was proposed as ...
Moon landing) resting on the surface, apparently taken by Kharlamov during lunar
EVA Eva or EVA may refer to: * Eva (name), a feminine given name Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Eva (Dynamite Entertainment), a comic book character by Dynamite Entertainment * Eva (''Devil May Cry''), Dante's mother in t ...
. Both scenes are shown as stills on the movie's cover. Then there is a short clip of the other cosmonauts walking through a hangar with the 1930s space program director, and the credits roll.


Production

The screenplay was written by Aleksandr Gonorovskiy and Ramil Yamaleyev, and is loosely based on conspiracy theories of lost cosmonauts. Production of ''First on the Moon'' lasted for three years and involved more than a thousand people. Most of filming was performed on
Sverdlovsk Film Studio Sverdlovsk Film Studio (russian: Свердловская Киностудия) is a Russian film studio based in Yekaterinburg (formerly Sverdlovsk). It is a regional studio, that was established on 9 February 1943 in the midst of World War II. ...
. The cosmonaut space training was filmed in
Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk ( rus, Челя́бинск, p=tɕɪˈlʲæbʲɪnsk, a=Ru-Chelyabinsk.ogg; ba, Силәбе, ''Siläbe'') is the administrative center and largest city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the seventh-largest city in Russia, with a ...
, at the Institute of Aviation, where there exists equipment from Star City which even
Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space. Tr ...
used for training. The actors worked without
stunt double In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes FOR another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stunt ...
s; they were really spinning in the
centrifuge A centrifuge is a device that uses centrifugal force to separate various components of a fluid. This is achieved by spinning the fluid at high speed within a container, thereby separating fluids of different densities (e.g. cream from milk) or ...
, despite the fact that this training is difficult even for professionals. The film was made in both black and white and color, with cinematography by Anatoliy Lesnikov. Vera Zelinskaya was the production designer.


Cast

*Boris Vlasov as Cap. Ivan Kharlamov, the cosmonaut. *Andrei Osipov as Fyodor Suprun, the Chief Constructor. *Viktoriya Ilyinskaya as Nadezhda Svetlaya, a cosmonaut candidate. *Viktor Kotov as Mikhail Roshchin, a cosmonaut candidate with
dwarfism Dwarfism is a condition wherein an organism is exceptionally small, and mostly occurs in the animal kingdom. In humans, it is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than , regardless of sex; the average adult height among people with dw ...
. *Aleksei Slavnin as Khanif Fattakhov, a cosmonaut candidate. *Anatoli Otradnov as Khanif Fattakhov in old age.


Reception

When elements of the plot started leaking out, a number of Russian newspapers treated it as a documentary about a real 1938 event, referring to it as the
Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
Meteorite A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the ...
(метеорит "Сантьяго"). In reality, the film is fiction. To quote the director: "Some type of new genre. It was very difficult to decide on a name. So far, for me this is either historical drama or documentary fantasy." He also said: "Our film is about how the Soviet state machinery manufactured major products - the best people. Fine, strong and clever heroes, then rendered
hem A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...
unnecessary to the native land – some have been destroyed, others lost in obscurity, yet others still broken by fear." Julia VassilievaThe Totalitarian Echo in New Russian Cinema
''
Rouge Rouge is the French word for "red" and may refer to: Compounds * Rouge (cosmetics), a cosmetic used to color the cheeks and emphasize the cheekbones * Jeweler's rouge or iron(III) oxide * Rouging, a form of corrosion applicable to stainless ...
'' credits cinematographer Anatoliy Lesnikov and set designer Nikolai Pavlov with a form "... mimicking so successfully the documentary mode" as the reason that ''First on the Moon'' won 2005 Venice Film Festival award for a documentary.


Awards

*2005 —
Cottbus Film Festival of Young East European Cinema Cottbus (; Lower Sorbian: ''Chóśebuz'' ; Polish: Chociebuż) is a university city and the second-largest city in Brandenburg, Germany. Situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree, Cottbus is also a major railway junction with exten ...
: First Work Award of the Student Jury and Special Prize *2005 —
Flanders International Film Festival Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture ...
: Grand Prix *2005 —
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
: Venice Horizons Best Film Award *2005 —
Warsaw International Film Festival Warsaw Film Festival ( pl, Warszawski Festiwal Filmowy, abbreviated as WFF) is an annual film festival held every October in Warsaw, Poland which previews new films of all genres, including documentaries from all around the world. The festival ha ...
: Special Mention *2005 —
Zagreb Film Festival Zagreb Film Festival (ZFF) is an annual film festival held since 2003 in Zagreb, Croatia. Focusing on promoting young and upcoming filmmaker, the festival is widely considered to be one of the most important and influential cultural events in Croa ...
: Golden Pram Award *2005 — The Best Debut Prize,
Kinotaur Kinotavr (russian: Кинотавр), also known as the Sochi Open Russian Film Festival is an open film festival held in the resort city of Sochi, Russia annually in June since 1991, until it was cancelled in the wake of the 2022 Russian invasio ...
festival,
Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...
,
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
*2006 —
Eurocon Eurocon is an annual science fiction convention held in Europe. The organising committee of each Eurocon is selected by vote of the participants of the previous event. The procedure is coordinated by the European Science Fiction Society. The first ...
: Best performance


See also

* ''Apollo 18'' (film)


References


External links

* * *{{IMDb title, 0459929
KinoKultura review by Alexander Prokhorov

KinoKultura review by Oleg Kovalov
2005 films Russian mystery films Russian science fiction films Russian alternate history films 2000s mockumentary films 2005 science fiction films Moon in film Films set in Russia Films set in 1938 Films directed by Aleksey Fedorchenko