“Vostok’” takes a humorous look at the USSR’s Vostok program, which was designed to put the first human in space. Anderson recreates the launches with a dilapidated station wagon. He conveys a sense of the ramshackle nature of each launch with his makeshift launch pads, sparklers and wooden beams propping up the station wagon. The astronaut’s spacesuit looks like someone had taken a winter coat, insulated pants and a biker’s helmet, and wrapped it all in aluminum foil. Actually, it looks a little better than the suit Yuri Gagarin wore. Anderson uses visual repetition to great effect. With just a few elements and a simple visual gag — the wagon catches fire and falls down during launch — it creates an expectation where the “punch line” of Vostok 7’ is surprisingly rewarding.

Please Note: Vostok part ‘1, ‘2, ‘3 and ‘4 are screened as part of ‘Panorama 8: On The Shoulders of Giants’