Physicist Theodore Heldt, his young daughter Fern and his assistant Larry Gordon, on board a ship for a scientific expedition, are shipwrecked in the Pacific Ocean after a terrible storm. They find themselves safe and sound on an exotic desert island paradise. Several years pass, the professor dies and Fern and Larry, long in love and alone in the world, are united. One day, the ship they'd been waiting for appears, but the sailors are three smugglers who, instead of representing salvation, pose a threat to the young couple.

Three enemy agents lead a government security man on a perilous trail as the hunter becomes the hunted.

The amazing imaginative fiction author Stanislaw Lem wrote this visually stunning East German space exploration film with a dated but still thoughtful message. The Sets of Der Schweigende Stern are detailed and beautiful - giving the film an amazingly alien feel. The cinematography varies from excellent to mediocre, and the visual effects are cleverly done - relying on actual props and set devices as opposed to split screen and blue or green screen trick photography. Lem's plot is poignant and well-paced, but, unfortunately, most of the acting in this film is a bit difficult to watch. Finally, the overuse of voice-over narration in the early part of the film detracts from its otherwise good artistic and technical merit.