Two Russian Films

I must confess to not being either a big fan or follower of Russian cinema. Yep, I know that makes me somewhat of a philistine cinephile but we all have irrational dislikes and in general Russian culture is not really my cup of meat despite all those thick novels I enjoyed as a overly-serious teenager.

Because of this I'm not particularly well acquainted with even the pop culture end of Russian movies. I really enjoyed Nightwatch and Daywatch several years back but that's about where my knowledge ends, so two recent Russian sci-fi films caught my attention. 

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SPUTNIK (2020) 

Director: Egor Abramenko

Stars: Oksana Akinshina, Fedor Bondarchuk, Pyotr Fyodorov

Runtime: 113 min 

 

 

Sputnik, set in 1983 as two cosmonauts return to earth, is a very serious film. I found it quite appealing but am uncertain whether part of that attraction is that it was foreign and subtitled. There is an added layer of the exotic to a subtitled film, which sometimes makes even regular tropes seem more interesting.

Because there really isn't a lot new on offer here. One of the cosmonauts has picked up an outer space “passenger”. We discover this when protagonist expert Tanya is whisked away to a secret base to study the cosmonaut. Seriously unethical military behaviour is occurring while exploring the possibility of the new alien visitor being used as a weapon. Horrible stuff happens though it's not presented in a way that will scare. It's alarming rather than frightening.

The mood – though not the subject matter – is similar to Eric Garland's Ex-Machina, so this is fairly thoughtful stuff but whether there is enough meat on its philosophical bones to sustain interest is uncertain. If it all took place in Nevada and the cast spoke English I suspect proceedings would be kinda dull. Or perhaps I was just subconsciously yearning for cheap thrills...

But the film looks good with its claustrophobic military locations and the creature itself is very well done. There are a couple of novel moments but there's little you won't have seen before. I can't help but wonder whether it would have been a bit more fun if they'd abandoned the seriousness and just gone all out for an over-the-top blood 'n' guts creature feature. 

COMA (2019)

Director: Nikita Argunov

Stars: Rinal Mukhametov, Lyubov Aksyonova, Anton Pampushnyy

Runtime: 111 min 

Coma kicks off in spectacular fashion. A man awakes in an apartment to find the world dissolving around him into black dust particles, or perhaps simultaneously being created by them. Outside on the street the city resembles the mixed-up multi-directional mayhem of Christopher Nolan's Inception (or a Max Escher drawing), above, below and around him, seemingly including famous buildings from around the world and all of it, even the people, decaying. Or being created.

Suddenly, a huge Dirt Particle Monster shows up (later named as a "Reaper", reminiscent of Harry Potter's Dementors), followed by a group of commandos, who dramatically rescue the man and in no time they'll all leaping across tall buildings, jumping through space between Venetian canals and sundry skyscrapers.

Like I said, it's pretty spectacular. And in these blockbuster-deprived times that's a rare and welcome treat.

But, before all this action, we did see a split-second glimpse of a car crash. And that turns out to be key. Our hero is in a coma, as are his rescuers, and all people in comas share a common world made from their memories. Of course they do. It's called the world of suspended disbelief and with visuals as good as this I was more than prepared to spend a while in it.

And in case you think I'm giving away too much of the film – all this happens in the first ten minutes.

Actually, what it settles into resembling most is a post-apocalyptic Mad Max-style flick (sans desert) and as such it's most entertaining, with the Russian heritage a real bonus as the different sensibilities keep things fresh and interesting, despite obvious debts to everything from The Matrix and Waterworld to Life On Mars.

There are yer actual plot twists and incredible visuals as far as the eye can see, both in some imaginative, very well-choreographed action sequences and throughout in the unendingly fascinating landscapes. There's also philosophical discussion, most of it daffy enough to fit the premise and not intrude too much.

It all adds up to a solid shot of exciting escapism. Damn fine. That may be just what we need right now.