The paradox of relativity This is not Edgar Wilmer’s first film in the genre of fiction, so the beginning is impressive. The fact that the film is black and white only adds depth to the frame, and makes the narrative “naturally aged”. The entanglement itself is quite consistent with 1960 – the Russian satellite has already managed to settle down in orbit, and the topic of space exploration was especially relevant. Wilmer approached her from an interesting side, by overcoming the time barrier on a super-modern fighter, expressing his idea by the on-screen “split effect” of the material body during a temporary “puncture”.
The scenery of the future evokes positive emotions, albeit with a dose of ironic skepticism (a panorama of the Citadel near the destroyed city). The interior of the Citadel is emphasized futuristic with the use of “antigravity architecture”, when pyramidal objects are deliberately put not on the base, but on the top, creating a kind of soaring effect. The presence of numerous triangular doors only emphasizes this feeling.
In all respects, the middle of the film is the most successful – both in costumes, characters introduced into the frame, and in conversation (" Are you from the race of talking people?). Towards the end, the stamps begin: zombie-like mutants, the presence of a “bad Russian” in the frame and other paraphernalia. Although the finale itself is not bad, so is the attempt of two scientists Kruse and Bourman (reminds me of anything?) to justify the way in which the pilot was ahead of time by 64 years. Of course, summing up the speed of rotation of the Earth around its axis, around the Sun, around the center of the Galaxy, around the Local cluster of galaxies, etc., we will never get the speed of light, but what is the thought itself!
The most memorable characters are the pilot (Robert Clarke), Princess Trirena (Darlen Tompkins) and Vladyka (" our Hollywood — Vladimir Sokolov). The pilot impresses with adequate behavior in a completely absurd situation and realistic play. Trirena is a charismatic character and a pleasant smile. Vladyka is a “Buddhist” attitude to life and death. There is very little music in the film, which is why what is happening is perceived with a certain amount of "documentary". Especially the final scene, which seems to have said everything, but leaves room for his own speculation about the future fate of the pilot.