Soviet sci-fi from 1983, the year after Blade Runner, Moon Rainbow is as good an indicator as any of the gulf between the communist and capitalist blocs when it came to this sort of thing. The special effects are rudimentary and much of the actual sci-fi action takes place off screen! Bizarre. But if shots of cosmonauts walking moodily about a space ship tickle your curiosity, this might be for you.
After a calamitous mission to one of the satellites of Uranus, during which most of the cosmonauts were killed, the survivors return to Earth, where they are soon confounding scientists with their newfound ability to influence electrical and electronic equipment. Attention first focuses on Timur Kisimov (Georgiy Taratorkin), who sends a weather station haywire with his “gift”, before eventually settling on another survivor, “Moon Dave” (Vladimir Gostyukhin), who has the answers the scientists are looking for, whether he knows it or not.
This shifting focus is typical of the film. It looks like it’s going to be Timur as the main man, but in fact it’s Dave. Similarly, it looks like the disastrous incident up in space is going to be what the film is concerned with, but in fact it’s more about the investigation into the disaster, with flashbacks intended to fill us in and provide the sci-fi action. But there just aren’t enough of them, and the endless debating between boffins airing their theories lends everything the dynamic of a Politburo meeting. Maybe it’s satire?
The effect is dumbfounding at first, though there’s plenty of kitsch to absorb the interest, and the soundtrack is particularly good – as if Vangelis in his pomp had got together with Vyacheslav Mescherin, the king of Soviet loungecore (Yuri Gagarin was a big fan). In fact it’s by Soviet synth pioneer Eduardo Artemyev, the favourite of Tarkovsky who scored Solaris, Mirror and Stalker, whose eerie electronica really helps with the chilly atmospherics.
Tarkovsian metaphysics and longing scuttle about the edges of this movie, though the darkness of Alien is also obviously an influence, and there’s more than a bit of Star Trek in the production design. The special effects are where it all comes crashing down, with an over-reliance on models ruining the “you are there” vibe.
As if trying to right a lot of wrongs, director Andrei Yermash abandons all that as he hits the home straight, switching instead into Kubrickian 2001-style psychedelia in the mad dash for the finish line, with old-school optical effects suddenly being wheeled out. They are particularly effective and, along with the sudden realisation by all concerned that some action is required, there is a rise in energy levels that’s as welcome as it is unexpected.
Fans of naked communist propaganda will be disappointed, though there is a conversation towards the end between Dave and Timur on the inherent value of contributing to “the project” – wink, nudge – but that’s it.
I wouldn’t suit up and get into a spaceship for this movie but it is fascinating and ends on a bit of a breakneck tear. If you’re not keen on shelling out the hard-earned for a hard copy on Amazon, where there currently seem to be no reviews, there is always the Mosfilm channel on YouTube. This is a remarkable resource and there are some stone-cold classics on there (most of Tarkovsky’s films, as well as Elem Klimov’s Come and See, for starters). The Russian version (turn on the auto-generated English translation – it’s not bad) has had a 4K restoration and looks pretty good. I cannot find the English version or I’d link to it, but Mosfilm claim that there is one somewhere. Good luck out there in space!
Moon Rainbow – Watch it/buy it at Amazon
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© Steve Morrissey 2026
