Film Review - Iron Sky
by Shelly Schoeneshoefer

Director: TJimo Vuorensola,
Finland/The Netherlands/Australia

Hey, do you gals have any idea what is on the dark side of the moon? Well, the lady president of the U.S. in 2018, who is a Sarah Palin (Stephanie Paul) doppelgänger, and I can certainly tell you that without a doubt the Nazis are there and plan to take over the world this time. This science-fiction, low-budget spoof started off with a trailer in 2008 at the Cannes Film Festival in search of financial help. The Finnish director Timo Vuorensola had a unique concept for marketing involving some 27 different financial companies plus an Iron Sky on-line community which has helped raise funds to make this film happen. The film’s budget was 7.5 million Euros and 6.3 million came from traditional funding with the rest from crowd funding. To understand all this, there is a great website under Iron Sky which explains everything in detail. I did notice in the financial section as an American citizen we were not allowed to participate due to legal agreements. Nevertheless this film is a forerunner to a new wave of independent movies where the public can participate in the creative and the financial part of producing a film.

The film opens as the U.S. once again lands on the moon, this time as part of a re-election presidential campaign slogan, “Yes she can,” and a propaganda plan called “Black to the Moon” which includes one of the “brothers,” James Washington (Christopher Kirby). He is soon captured by the Nazis of the Fourth Reich who are planning to invade and conquer the world and have the fleet to do it right this time. Renate Richter (Julia Dietze), the naïve school teacher, tries to save Washington’s life and soon they are paired up against this evil empire and save the world. No doubt this film will become a cult classic. It has all the right ingredients from Charlie Chaplin to a mad scientist (Udo Kier) who looks like Albert Einstein and space ships which look like the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars. This film is hilariously funny and will keep you laughing until the end of the world has come and gone. The film ends with a great message to the world.