Space is a dangerous place, even if our big, wide, wonderful world is only a couple of hundred miles away, dominating the view for those fortunate souls on the International Space Station.  But what if war suddenly breaks out on Earth; what would the orbiting astronauts (usually from a variety of countries) be asked to do?  Such is the premise of I. S. S., a thoughtful but rather depressing story of limited war in a very confined area.

Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s film posits that exact situation, with three American astronauts and three Russian cosmonauts suddenly thrust into conflict.  This might have been a really interesting Battle Royale, except that each group receives orders to secure the station “by whatever means necessary” secretly, without letting the other group know.  This allows the drama to play out slowly, with an ever-increasing sense of urgency and danger.  At least, that is the blueprint.

The problem with this approach is twofold.  First, the situation must be fully explained to the viewer, via the introduction of the “rookie” astronaut, Dr. Kira Foster (Ariana DeBose), which takes time and sublimates her character into the rather obvious underdog role.  Second, while it quickly becomes clear to the viewer that unabashed personal conflict is inevitable, the characters naïvely and stupidly try to avoid confrontation for far too long.  Instead of being honest with each other, they fall into stealth, deception and sabotage, grim and deceitful, which is not very believable and is difficult to watch in such an environment.  This is yet another case of creating a marvelous, wondrous, incredible natural environment and then watching the stupid humans ruin it.

To be sure, the political situation is plausible, and I wonder how accurate or prescient this situation would really be for orbiting astronauts should the unthinkable actually occur on Earth.  Maybe more than I am willing to give the film credit for.  But its twists are obvious and its ultimate stalemate is clearly in view throughout.  It’s nice that the film doesn’t take a political side, I guess, but why should it?  People under pressure provide the drama no matter what side they are on.  Mostly the drama is effective, if unsurprising, and the effects of weightlessness are generally convincing (except in one scene where fruit doesn’t float), but this should have been much better.  ☆ ☆ 1/2.  20 July 2024.