This film is another cinematic masterpiece in the history of spaceflight. I'm no film expert, but as an American engineer with a love for spaceflight history, I found this to be a very good film in all respects. Technical, drama, realism...all were good in many respects. The Russian cinematic effort and acting that went into this movie is 1st class. As an English speaker with only limited Russian language abilities as of this review, I found it very easy to follow the movie.Bravo to all those involved in bringing this great story to the movie screen. Russia and all the other former Soviet scientists, engineers, cosmonauts, and everyone ever involved with the former Soviet space program have much to be proud of. Congratulations from America.

Well made film with top production, brilliant photography, excellent actors but without ambition to be more than propaganda cliché about glorious time and bravery. Relationship between team member who are also is direct rival are unrealistic idealistic.This film would be suitable for showing in Russian schools with purpose to raise national pride or for people who need only basic information about Yuri Gagarin and this historical event. Just a pity, with this team of filmmakers, it could be a masterpiece.

Good biopic.The story of Yuri Gagarin, the first person in space. Told by concentrating on his historic flight, interspersed with flashbacks to his youth, Air Force training, cosmonaut training, his relationships and family life.Very well made. The special effects for Gagarin's journey into space and back are superb. The story around the flight is also well told - the director creates genuine tension regarding his safety, even before he goes into space. As you can imagine there would have been - nobody had done it before, and the technology was fairly primitive. The personal side is kind of schmaltzy though. There are also some other scenes that don't seem to add much to the movie.A good story on a very brave man.

The move into space is one of mankind's greatest achievements in the 20th century and this biopic is a worthy addition to the more commonly found fare us in the west are exposed to.In a way this could be seen as the Russian equivalent of the excellent 1983 Hollywood film 'The Right Stuff'. It celebrates the putting of the first man into space, Yuri Gagarin of course. The film is told in a way that details his famous flight in 1961 with flashbacks to key points in his life, his childhood, his romance with his soon to be wife, his joining the Soviet Air Force and the trials and tribulations of the journey that resulted in him eventually making history.As the film is less than two hours long it does have a feel of a carefully put together and slightly hurried celebration of an authentic Soviet hero. Gagarin is made out to be the nicest man in the world who was a model poster boy for the Soviets, and it does gloss over his life and stops conveniently before his faults as a human being (particularly his later alcoholism) became apparent. However that is my only grumble because this is a meticulously well done film with top rate effects and beautifully filmed. Yes it has a certain propaganda value (as do a great many American films on similar lines) that a cynic might try and pull apart. The re-enactments of the Soviet people celebrating his achievement do have a slight cheese factor when viewed from a modern perspective, but these are minor criticisms as the film is not intended to be a warts and all look at Major Gagarin's life, but a celebration of what he achieved and the fearlessness of a man who knew that to make history he had to knowingly take risks, with a brief explanation at the end of his life beyond his famous flight and his tragic death at the age of just 34.