Early in “I.S.S.,” the new International Space Station-set thriller directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, three Russian cosmonauts croon along to “Wind of Change” by the German band Scorpions. The 1991 power ballad was widely associated with the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. As the cosmonauts sing along, filled with nostalgia and emotion, they are gently ribbed by their American counterparts, a trio of astronauts, but the mood is jovial.
The Cold War is in the past, and aboard the International Space Station, the cosmonauts and astronauts have formed an international family, speaking Russian and English, working on their research side by side. Through the cupola they have a view of Earth where there are no visible borders. But that sense of unity hangs in a delicate balance. The space station might orbit around the Earth, but it is still an extension of “down below.” What happens there reverberates aboard the I.S.S., a concept explored in this quiet but gripping suspense thriller.
Ariana DeBose stars as Kira, the new kid aboard the space station, entering into a unique and tight-knit dynamic among the Russian and American crew. Their carefully calibrated social ecosystem is thrown into question after the group witnesses some kind of nuclear attack on the planet, with orange flame engulfing an entire continent. Both the Americans and the Russians are instructed separately to gain control of the space station by any means necessary, and suddenly, every conversation, every action becomes loaded with meaning: is there still a fragile accord in place or is everything a manipulation?
Written by Nick Shafir, “I.S.S” is more chamber piece drama than action movie, with a story that distills global issues into a miniature microcosm, drawing on deeply human emotions to motivate the characters: love, fear, impulsiveness, bravery. There’s Kira’s unease as the outsider, and she serves as the audience avatar aboard the ship, but Shafir also weaves a spin on “Romeo and Juliet” into this story, with a secret romance and the big emotions surrounding that powering much of the drama.