Operation Ganymed

I always looked at this as a sort of Vietnam parable. The astronauts (before they return to Earth) have nothing but high hopes and delusions of grandeur. They dream of a warm reception and massive parades for the conquering heroes.

However, nothing is further from the truth, as the Astronauts return to a world where they are not only forgotten, but unwelcome.

The bleak atmosphere of this movie is truly astonishing. I love the scenes where the astronauts wander around in the desert while the main character Don has frequent flashbacks to spacecamp and an extended sequence on the surface of Ganymede where two of his fellow explorers die tragic deaths.

While the cinematography and editing are pretty crude, there are some pretty good ideas and tricks used by this extremely low budget movie. Although the acting does get over the top at times, it's never too silly to keep from enjoying the seriousness of the movie, which in the end is more of a thinker than a downer. I love the ending in that it raises some really good questions while the movie could have ended at any point earlier on.

Watch as a curiosity item, at least to see Jurgen Prochnow in a very pre-Das Boot supporting role.