#scifi

"Star City" (USA, 2026)

While I dropped out of life for a few days, settling in various forests, it's time to remind you that Apple TV has released "Star City" [a spin-off of "For All Mankind"], and this is one of those cases where a spin-off managed to live up to expectations.

"Star City" tells the inside story of the Soviet space program in an alternate reality. And if "For All Mankind" was more about a beautiful scientific and technological future, with the emphasis accordingly [it's literally a story about how science and technology change the world], then "Star City" turned out to be a spy thriller about how the pursuit of the stars became a source of paranoia for an entire state. And it is written and shown brilliantly. Both visually [dimmed light, dark shades, lots of shadows and "grayness" in the frame], and plot-wise [where literally any event feels like a reason for anxiety and looking around].

Personally, I didn't get a feeling of cranberry or overkill with the atmosphere. The aesthetics and atmosphere are well familiar to a Russian person [feels like in HBO's "Chernobyl"]. And I think it's because we all perfectly understand the conditions under which the real space program was created in the USSR, where there was no room for mistakes, but there were many suspicions and denunciations. At the same time, the creators do not try to blacken everything: before us are ordinary people who strive for an ideal, but face duplicity and indifference of the system to human lives. We see at what cost any achievement and any promotion comes.

The characters are not written in one color, they are contradictory, but gradually you feel sympathy for them. After all, essentially they are all hostages of the situation and a specific alternative regime. And watching them try to survive and keep their soul is both fascinating and scary. Scary from the realization that there is a lot of realistic meaning in this.

"For All Mankind" is an ode to humanity and its boundless courage, despite any disagreements. "Star City" is a story about how to preserve the human in yourself, despite the fact that it's easier to live inhumanely. At the same time, hope is still felt. It's curious how one of humanity's main achievements—space flight—reveals both the best and worst in people.

#reviews