Watching the film brings me back to that so distant past that most of us know only through archived films and through internet sources.  Still, it is truly fascinating to be able to watch films like these which are restored and made available for us to see in the recent years.  What brings to mind are hints of Charlie Chaplin films and the musical scoring was also unique. The movie is based on the sci-fi novel written by Alexei Tolstoy, a popular Soviet writer who ironically is best known for his historical novels. While the movie presents futuristic yet too far out ideas about Mars and its inhabitants it was generally engrossing to watch.