I was very surprised to see that this movie did not already exist on What the Movie, as it did have a theatre release and it is often noted as one of the top Soviet cult movies. It seems that this movie is still always screened for the entire crew of every Russian space mission prior to departure. Although the movie does not feature anything remotely related to space exploration, it does succeed to convey the sense of adventure that astronauts must feel when they do their job well away of Earths safety. It is also seen as the Russian answer to the Western genre, which makes sense when one sees the locations and plot.

We follow Fyodor Shukov through the desert as he heads towards home and his wife, after doing his duty for the red army in the Russian civil war. He happens to stumble upon the Harem of a Caspian Sea guerilla leader, who abandoned his wives to be able to move faster through the desert in an attempt to avoid capture by the red army. Shukov must now lead the harem through the desert, and protect the women from all dangers on the voyage. He is aided by a bandit whom he saved.

The locations for this short but epic movie are beautiful, and it surprised me to see these landscapes in Russia, which illustrates the vastness and the diversity of landscapes in this country (and how little I know about it). What also really stood out were the costumes, which are really beautifully designed.

On a further note, the movie has its share of action, comedy and wit, in a sort of Raiders of the Lost Ark kind of way. If you can find it somewhere, it comes highly recommended.