How strange and ethereal must be the feeling of being the last man standing, when everything and nothing are at stake... Gagarine will fly you to a very special place.

'Gagarine' was first a short documentary French film turned into a feature length fictional drama. It should have stayed a short as this was stretched and mostly unenjoyable. When you only have 45 minutes (AT MOST) of material or words on the page you simply can't expect a 97 minute feature to work. The movie once again shows the disconnect between the real people watching movies and elitist critics. Newcomer Alséni Bathily turns in an eye-opening performance as Yuri which is the best part of the picture. Too many unexplained montages in a film that is way too contemplative. With supporting characters criminally underdeveloped and the stakes never really explained, 'Gagarine' in a colossal wasted chance to put the underserved in focus. That focus should have been SOLELY on people displaced from their homes and relationships potentially altered forever. Giant swing and a miss. Final Score: 3/10

(Mauro Lanari) "Balancing whimsy-tinged magic realism against serious themes of community and displacement, Gagarine is as bracingly original as it is ultimately poignant" (RT). Suffused with an extraordinary demure halo, glocal, mic-mac, innernaut-cosmonaut maximized from the banlieue to the moon and from deep space to the suspended return: a memorable debut.

This film has a lovely dreamlike feel to it. It depicts young adults trying to escape their barren surroundings, dreaming of a better, more exciting life, wondering what may exist, to be explored in space. I suppose in a way its an example of a compelling escapist, or immersive, film, that does well at pulling the viewer in to the world of the characters on screen. I can certainly relate to having a curious imagination. It is a bit of an arty film, so possibly may be a little too abstract for some peoples taste but its definitely got a nice warmth to it, which I enjoyed. I particularly liked the library footage of space explorations shown in between scenes set on Earth and the floaty/dreamlike music softly played in the background at times. I also liked the use of bright colours, particularly red, to emphasise some brief scenes as depicting imagined scenarios. Yes, I'd recommend this film.

Gagarine is an intriguing and beautiful film. One that combines realism with magic with great skill. Set in Cite Gagarine in Paris it concerns itself with a group of young friends coming to terms with losing their home. Cite Gagarine are high rise apartments built in the 1970s and named after famed Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. The main character is named Youri too and he is a 16yo boy trying to keep the block of apartments afloat by undertaking repairs. The commnunity wants to keep the block alive but the council is determined to demolish them. Youri also has a fascination with space and the film blends quite well the realistic nature of everyday life and his 'magic world' of looking to the stars. Alseni Bathily is superb in the lead role. This is a lovely film that was compelling to watch.

When a rundown housing project on the outskirts of Paris is slated for demolition, its predominantly low-income immigrant residents face forced eviction and relocation. But one occupant resists. As an aspiring astronaut, 16-year-old Youri tries to save the complex of high-rises named in honor of Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gargarin, the first man in space and the youngster's namesake. But, when the clock runs out, he must scramble to survive as the project's only remaining resident. It's at this point, though, when the picture loses its way, turning somewhat preposterous. And, the longer it goes on, the more the film turns surreally preposterous, mixing fantasy and reality in a fuzzy, disjointed way, leaving viewers wondering how the two actually mesh. The result is an unsatisfying disappointment, almost as if directors Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh ultimately didn't know where to take their debut feature. That's regrettable, given that their production seemed to start off with a promising premise that lost its legs part way through. It's commendable to dream for the stars, but you have to have a flight plan in place before you launch, something that's sorely lacking here.

Here in the U.S., housing projects are place for our government to say we're doing good things for people while in reality we are hiding and warehousing the things we don't want to see - generational poor, unskilled, immigrants - away from us. Gagarine suggests that it's pretty much the same in France. Like an abused child or spouse who won't leave their abuser, some residents cling to their soon to be demolished cesspool of despair and decay. Sadly, neither the movie nor the characters go anywhere. Interesting technique and editing, but lacking story.