janeiz

If for you a thriller is all about the plot, this series will not suit you - because the plot stands out as the weakest element in this production. A young couple returns home from St-Petersburg in a night train. When the woman wakes up, her husband has left the compartment and is nowhere to be found. On arrival he is still missing. They find him in the toilet - dead. Is it suicide? Why? Why does the phone keep on ringing? Who is the woman he talked to the night before his death? The woman, not satisfied with the suicide theory, begins her own investigation and finds a bit more than she was looking for.... OK, characters all play well, suspense is built up neatly and the series offers a nice - if somewhat rosy - image of today's Russia and it's emerging middle-class. The end, the plot come as a huge disappointment. But the build up to the plot was rewarding in it self so your time will not be wasted watching this one.

This "movie" is listed as "mini" which means there are several versions. I borrowed a video from a friend which was 126 minutes, not the 400+ credited on the IMDb site and my grades apply to the movie, not the series. I do understand Russian but not enough to judge dialog. I can tell however that the story told is rather thin. It is a not very original story about two man and the one woman they both love. The love story is not very elaborate because a crime story is intertwined (but not adequately finished). Setting is unusual for the western viewer (the Russian far east, an army town) but we do not get many shots of the local scenery. Musical score is downright terrible (music, image and action never match properly) although a beautiful song by Lyube is used ("Prinesi menya reka") Actors perform well though.

This story has been told many times. Married woman with half grown/up son falls in love with stranger and prepares to leave everything behind for this - last ? - great love. But the acting in this film is great, especially Vera Alentova, and the ending is heart-breaking. I also like the way in which the life of non-underground intellectuals in Moscow is depicted and the settings, the dream-like quality of the environment when life is like a dream. Like all Russian films, it tends to be a bit to long and the love of the absurd sometimes threatens to take over the story (again, when the main persons live their dream) but all in all it is such a well made and acted film it will 'stay with you' some days after you've seen it.