Dark Planet: The Inhabited Island(Film, 2008)

Dark Planet (Russian: Обитаемый остров, romanized: Obitaemyy ostrov, lit. 'The Inhabited Island') is a two-part Russian science fiction film directed by Fyodor Bondarchuk. The film was adapted by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko from the 1969 novel by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky of the same Russian name, published in English as Prisoners of Power; a part of the Noon Universe series. It is a dystopian story set on post-apocalyptic planet Saraksh, ruled by a totalitarian regime that brainwashes its citizens. Maxim Kammerer, a space explorer from Earth, crash-lands on Saraksh and becomes involved in the planet's everboiling politics. The movie was released as two separate films, in December 2008 and April 2009, respectively. The film was met with mixed reviews. It was praised for its visual style, social commentary and being faithful to the original novel, but also criticized for its direction, editing, and casting. Dark Planet was made with one of the largest budgets for Russian cinema at the time (it remains the most expensive Russian science fiction film ever), and despite huge box office earnings and DVD sales the movie was considered a financial disappointment. ()