First on the Moon

"Mockumentary" doesn't do this film justice. Apparently the director's label is "documentary fantasy", but "alternative history" works for me. There's some humor here, but it's not a comedy. After all, taking the premise that Stalin had a secret space program in the 30's to its logical conclusion doesn't exactly point to it being a Laff Riot... What you DO have is a fascinating "historical" documentary tracing this secret rocket program of the late 1930's and following the cosmonaut's lives before, during, and after. Much of what would be seen as "fictional recreations" in most documentaries is explained and presented as NKVD surveillance video -- a great conceit. The film includes recreations of newsreels, training films, and also "contemporary" interviews that support a fascinating story. I saw this at the 2006 Seattle International Film Festival, where it sold out both showings. See it if you can!