Russia isn't a country known for producing many movies. I have only watched a handful of films from that country and in the 2 recently produced films, Salyut-7 and Why Don't You Just Die!, there is an actor that participates in both of them. It is hard to watch so few movies and find the same actor in both films so the Russian film industry must be very small for this to happen. The actor in question is Vitaliy Khayev.
Salyut-7 is an excellent film and it is certainly my favorite Russian film. The story is based on real-life events that happened in the 80s where the Soviet Union's space station suffered some damage and without any type of control. The incredibly hard mission was to accomplish a docking by matching the space station's rotation.
It is similar to the famous scene from the Interstellar film when the robots say "it is not possible" and Matthew McConaughey answers "no, it is necessary". Of course, this fictional movie is more extreme and they had 2 robot assistants but the real-life mission from Salyut-7 was similar, and that was only just the beginning. Even if they were able to dock, they would have to check if the space station could be repaired and save it.
The mission wasn't a suicide one but it was close. There is also the family drama element because both cosmonauts have their own families waiting for them on Earth, and they have to face so many difficulties that the possibility of their death was always present.
When it comes to acting, as I mentioned before, I only knew one actor from the cast and his character was secondary. The 2 main ones did a good job playing the cosmonauts. There was also a very good job when it comes to cinematography and special effects.
If you like space movies with no scifi then this is a must-watch. Salyut-7 is an excellent drama about one of the most difficult missions in space history. Technically, it is a well-done film and the cast did a great job in their roles. An excellent movie all around.
The best
- Excellent drama with intense moments.
- Great space scenes.
The worst
- I am not sure if some parts of the plot were exaggerated.
More information: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6537238/ Review: AAA In numbers: 8/10